Complexity
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile. Slash; Marcus/Seth
1. I Decisions

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** I. Decisions  
**Prompt:** oo1. your choice (coercion)  
**Words:** 7253 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**I. Decisions**

Aro was someone who was always looking for something new and _**fascinating**_ to add to his collection. And once again, Carlisle had proved that his... alternate lifestyle could be very useful to aiding that goal of his. He had discovered was a clan of humans who could change their shape into that of wolves at will, and this had Aro's curiosity roused.

He wanted one of those wolves, desperately.

It would take just a little bit of manipulating, but they had the laws on their side, along with the advantage of numbers. A few little falsehoods, since really they weren't lies, would secure the cooperation of the wolves. He didn't actually truly fancy the idea of attacking them to get what he wanted. If he could secure one of them in a more or less willing way, it eliminated a lot of the nastier bits of kidnap and having other vampires turn on them for perhaps even violating their own laws.

"It seems you have amassed... quite a flock of allies Carlisle." Aro kept his voice light and even. Edward wasn't there yet, and Aro needed to smooth out the details of his plan before he did. "But the question is, have you held up your end of our little deal?"

A little coercion would go a long way.

"Edward and Bella are on their way, they should be here any moment." Like Aro, Carlisle kept his voice level simply because it wouldn't do to betray any form of weakness or hints of nervousness to the unofficial leader of the Volturi. Aro's position went unspoken in the clan, after all, he was the original member; the Volturi was his creation, his dream, his _**vision**_.

"Oh good! I look forward to seeing Bella again! Has she been well? Did the change go well for her?"

One of the wolves bared its teeth and growled as those words slipped past Aro's lips; apparently, this was quite the sore spot between the Cullens and this mysterious wolf pack. Aro had already viewed Carlisle's thoughts, and he was anxious for Edward to return so that he could get on with his plan, which he would have to keep carefully veiled and hidden with other, much less useful thoughts, ones which wouldn't betray his plans.

"Aro." Edward's voice was the opposite of the light tones which Carlisle and Aro used. His voice was cold and hard with barely concealed fury. Beside him was a pale Bella with glowing gold eyes.

No longer a weak and pitiful human, Bella was now a beautiful pale goddess. Nothing about her had changed but everything had at the same time, it was amazing how much a little vampire venom could do to change a person until they were almost recognizable. Her now golden eyes revealed just how much she'd changed in the first few years of her new life. The last time Aro had seen her, almost three years before, Bella had been very human, hiding behind the shelter of her mate, Edward.

Face lighting up with true delight, Aro greeted them both cheerfully, "It's wonderful to see you both again! I can see that you're both doing very well. I hope the change wasn't too much of a shock for you, Bella."

Unlike before, now Bella met his eyes with a confidence that she hadn't had before, "It was very painful, but it was definitely worth it."

She reached out a pale hand and took Edward's hand in hers, giving him a small smile and his hand a quick squeeze to offer him reassurance. He no longer had to worry about her, she was no longer the frail, pathetic human who was constantly in need of his protection to keep her safe and breathing. And her scent had lost much of its old appeal, having settled into something decidedly less mouth-watering, it was still a heavy draw, though, and very distinctive.

Aro's smile didn't falter, but Edward frowned in concentration. The plan was carefully tucked away, and Aro was focusing completely on how delighted he was that Bella had made the change, and his curiosity at what gift it was that she'd brought with her into this life from her human one. After all, she was the most promising person that they'd come across since Jane and Alec.

"Why are you here, Aro?" Edward asked, his voice didn't lose its cold edge. "You didn't just come here for idle conversation."

Aro's continued to smile, refusing to show any weakness or show of anything other then the utmost confidence, "Out of curiosity... what is her gift?"

This time, Edward smiled in return. It wasn't one of joy or a cheerful one, but one of vindictive pleasure; clearly he was very proud of his wife and her new-found ability. The confidence in whatever it was that Bella was now able to do, made Aro just a tad more wary.

"How about a little demonstration?" Edward held out his hand, an obvious sign for Aro to take it.

Confused by the much younger vampire's offer to venture into his mind, Aro briefly wondered just how this was necessary to showing off whatever it was that Bella could do now. But seeing that too gleeful look in Edward's eyes, Aro shoved those thoughts and doubts away, and pressed the tips of his fingers to Edward's palm firmly.

The expected waterfall of thoughts didn't come.

Aro frowned, focusing more and putting more effort in, but he still had nothing. Edward's mind was absolutely silent, he couldn't get even a wisp of a thought from him, or even a feeling from him. It was as if he was trying to read a stone wall, his extra sense felt muddled, and Aro pulled back after several minutes of pure silence. Well, that had been uncomfortable.

Funnily enough, the moment that Aro pulled his hand away from Edward's, the feeling that he'd had cotton shoved into his ears vanished. How decidedly... _**strange**_.

The grin on Edward's face was almost malicious as he stepped back beside his new wife, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. Well, that would make sense. Obviously, Aro had nearly missed the demonstration of Bella's new vampiric power.

"Ah, I see." Aro considered that, then, "So she can block the powers which work within the mind... how very useful."

Beside him, Jane twitched, her angelic little face turning into a sadistic smile. Her eyes automatically focused on Edward, wondering if her own ability would be foiled as well. But, of course, Aro knew that she'd be extremely angry when she learned that she could do nothing to the vampire standing in front of her. She still hadn't forgiven or gotten over the fact that Bella had foiled her once before when she'd first showed up in Volterra to save the vampire she loved.

It didn't take long for her young face to twist into one of absolute hatred and malice. A guttural snarl ripped from her dainty lips, and her concentration obviously doubled, but that gave no effect either and it only made her more upset. Jane didn't take too well to being foiled and it was very likely that she would take out her frustration out on one of the humans who they would prey on, or another suitable substitute. No matter how unangelic she was in actuality, Aro still valued her and her power above all others, including her brother Alec. It was something that Jane took pride in.

"Now, now Jane, dear," Aro told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to get so frustrated, her and her powers still continue to mystify us all."

Jane's tiny head bobbed once in acknowledgement, but it did nothing to quell the rage of lividly loathing thoughts which flowed through her mind and to Aro.

_That little bitch! How dare she?! How could she?! I am the only one who could ever satisfy every and all of Aro's needs, I belong to him, I am the only one who truly does. Aro is... Aro is my master, he couldn't be more interested in her then in me. I'm much more important then she is, it's __**only because of that damn ability of hers**__..._

Jane, though, listened to Aro despite the angry whirlwind of her thoughts and stepped back just a hair. She was still close enough to act as a bodyguard, if the need arose. Her passionate love and loyalty to Aro was what made her one of the best guards of the Volturi. But despite that, she was horribly prone to jealousy and was very possessive of her place as Aro's right-hand as well as his most treasured and favourite of all the guards. Because of that she might not, though, take too well to the, newest arrival if all went according to plan.

"There is no problem, I hope, if I ask a few more questions?" Aro asked politely. He was indeed curious to know more about her gift, its limitations and such, but also to better understand it by knowing what it actually was capable of.

Bella looked to Edward briefly, met his eyes, before looking back to Aro and nodding when she saw something in his eyes that told her it was fine, "Yes, that's fine."

"What exactly is it? From what I've seen, it can block the powers of ours which work within the mind, similar to Bella's shield which is constantly raised around her own mind." Aro shifted just a little, hands folding across his chest. He kept his tone nonchalant.

"I can nullify any one person's gift if it works within the mind," Bella explained.

"How many...?"

"Only one," Bella replied, evenly. "I can only stop the gift of one person."

Aro nodded, satisfied with the explanation, "It's still a very fascinating gift despite its limitations."

"Thank you." Bella inclined her head slightly, her manner stiff and wary; as were all the Cullens. Somehow, they seemed to know that Aro had something planned, even though it was just a feeling, but with Aro, it was better to err on the side of caution and assume that there was something more that he wanted. He had, after all, made a new discovery regarding the La Push pack...

"We have, as promised, held up our end of the bargain. Bella has been turned, as per your instructions," Carlisle was taking charge of the situation once more. Or at least, he was taking charge of his coven. "That should mean that you have no more reason to be here."

"I wish it was that simple, Carlisle," Aro replied, feigning regret. "But, unfortunately, it seems as though that same broken law which brought us here, has been broken again and that situation will need to be corrected now because we cannot afford to leave it unchecked."

"What do you mean?" Now his tone was wary, Carlisle obviously wasn't sure of what Aro had planned next, or what he was referring to, only that he had to have some greater scheme in mind.

A heavy sigh, "Humans aren't supposed to know of our existence. And, unfortunately, that law has been broken here." Aro gestured towards the Quileute wolves who were gathered on the edge of the clearing, on the right side of the Cullens. "They're human, as well as those humans who are involved with them. And all of them know about our existence."

Carlisle tensed, unsure of what to do or say for several moments. Then, his shoulder fell, and he asked, "What do you intend to do about it?"

Resignation seeped from every pore of the blond vampire's being, and Aro would've taken a bit of delight in that, but he was more concerned with seeing that his plan came to full fruition. After all, he had quite the lovely prize in mind, and he was excited to be able to get his hands on something new to add to his 'collection'.

"Law dictates that all of them who know of our existence must be... eliminated," Aro kept his voice in that tone of amusement, his mind clouded with trivial thoughts regarding the rules that had Edward's face turned up in an ugly scowl. "However, since our usual methods clean-up aren't possible without serious repercussions, then we will simply have to make a compromise on the matter."

Aro knew that Edward was frustrated with him hiding whatever it was that he had planned, and the frustration was clearly making it difficult for him to maintain his control. What had transpired between the Cullen coven and this pack of shape-shifters had clearly forged some sort of bond between them which went much deeper then Aro had anticipated at first.

Which wasn't too much of a problem, Aro appreciated a challenge every now and then. Some bonds were easily severed if the right pressure were applied to them, and he was an excellent manipulator, as well as having the advantage of numbers and skills on his side. He wasn't too worried that everything wouldn't play out in his favour and according to his plan.

"Just spit it out Aro," Edward's voice was rife with almost uncontrolled anger. "Stop dancing around the issue and tell us what it is that you want."

If it was appropriate, Aro would've pouted; but that wasn't behaviour suited to one of the Volturi's leaders nor did the situation merit such an action. So instead, his lips turned up into what would have normally been described as a cheerful and welcoming smile, but on Aro's face it spoke of dark and cruel intentions.

"The solution is very simple, actually. One of them," Aro gestured at the wolves, "must come with us back to Volterra."

Growls erupted from the wolves' throats, but Aro chose to ignore them. He then presented the alternative, "If that choice is not agreeable, then the matter is simple enough to resolve but unfortunately, would mean the death of quite a large number of young people as well as anyone involved with them who knows of the situation."

"You would kill all of them." Carlisle responded, his manner conveying that he understood the gravity of the situation and that rejecting Aro's offered compromise wasn't an option. Aro had backed them into a corner, one where he had given them only one way out.

The situation had an inevitable solution. Carlisle knew that Sam would have to make the decision based on what would keep the pack and all of the people who made La Push home safe. He couldn't deal with this as a person who cared about everyone, he had to be detached from the situation and judge it as a leader with the best interests of all of the people whose lives he was responsible for. Aro was offering him a way out, and was giving him the choice of who to send. One life in exchange for hundreds others who would be saved. It was too much for a young man to have to deal with, but Sam would have to.

It was an incredibly cruel play to make, but Aro was someone who would get what they wanted no matter what strings they had to pull or how many people had to die. He had set his sights on the La Push shape-shifters, and he wouldn't rest until he could add one of them to his vast collection.

_"And if we... agree, you will keep your word and none of the people in La Push will be harmed?"_ Edward was once more acting as interpreter for the wolves, who couldn't properly express themselves when in that form. But they didn't trust the Volturi enough to appear in human form, and this was something that Sam needed to confirm before he made any life-altering decisions.

"Of course. One life in exchange for all of theirs." Aro patiently waited as the wolf's leader thought over the decision, expecting an answer that was guaranteed to come out his way.

Sam hesitated, thinking over the proposal. All of the members of the pack knew what his decision was before he'd even made it. And all of them were resigned to the consequences of what that decision would be; one of them would be leaving, forever. Because Sam had to think of everyone first, not an individual's, and if trading one of them would guarantee the safety of the hundreds of lives which were riding on his decision, then it was inevitable about what he would choose.

Finally, he answered, much to Aro's inner delight.

_"We are in agreement then. Tomorrow at midnight one of us will be here to accompany you back to your city. In exchange, we expect that you'll hold up your end of the deal as well."_

"Very well. I look forward to that time then."

Inside, Aro was jumping with glee, even though beside him Jane looked murderous.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"This is a life or death decision Sam!" Jacob yelled. "You can't honestly be deciding this by having us draw straws!"

Sam flinched at the harsh tone of Jacob's voice, "Those of us who have imprinted can't leave, that means that only Leah, Embry, Paul, and Seth will be drawing straws. Your leech won't have to deal with your loss, and I have to think of everyone else! Separating imprinted couples would do nothing but cause pain and premature death! I won't do that."

Jacob bit his lip, even though he stopped arguing, it didn't change the fact that one of them would never be coming back. He couldn't think of anything worse than being separated from everything you'd ever known and all of the people you loved. All of them would be reeling from this decision for years, and nothing would ever be the same around La Push or Forks. Jacob looked around the room at each of the wolves who would potentially be leaving home forever to spend the rest of their life, and possibly eternity, as the prisoner of vampire royalty.

In the corner, Leah sat with her knees drawn to her chest. She fully expected to be the one to go, after all, because of all the pain and suffering that she'd inflicted on the rest of them. She was angry that Sam was even considering sending Seth, but it was a fact of the matter. She would have to deal with the pain if... if her brother was the one to go. But she hoped it wouldn't be that, he was too young, he was only barely eighteen. It wouldn't be right to send him, not with his whole life ahead of him.

Seth had said nothing, he was just as resigned to his fate as the others. Unlike his sister, he was accepting the fate that could possibly await him, and all he hoped was that it wouldn't be too painful. In fact, he was wondering if it would be better for him to go, after all, he was the one who could always make the best out of even the most bleak circumstances.

Embry and Paul were angry about the decision, the latter twitching and constantly on edge of slipping out of his human form and into his wolf one. Embry was taking the decision slightly better, but he was pale and shaking with worry. He didn't want to leave his mother behind, or his friends, they were his life. He couldn't imagine being separated from them, and his mother clung to him so badly as it was; he was all she had.

Then his eyes travelled back to Sam's, and there was a look of pained resignation in his eyes. This decision was weighing on him, but the only option that they had was to go along with the Volturi's deal and give up one of their own. Sam didn't like this anymore than any of them did, and he would have gladly gone in one of their places if he didn't have a family who relied on him.

Emily was expecting their first child in several months, and she would need Sam there through that difficult experience. As her husband, Sam had a duty to her first before he had one to his pack. And without an alpha, the pack would fall prey to all sorts of problems.

And separating any of the couples who had imprinted would be cruel and unkind, even if it would keep all of them safe. Jacob knew that if he was separated from Jasper that he'd either try to escape his captors, or just kill himself; that is, unless Jasper decided to go after him, which was something that the blond vampire would probably do.

Sam looked down at the ground, his fists clenched and shaking, in a softer voice, "Just go home Jacob, there's nothing that you can do here. I'm sure that your leech is waiting for you, and you shouldn't make him worry anymore then he already is."

For several moments, Jacob wanted to argue with Sam. He wanted to stay there, stay there so that whoever was picked, he could say goodbye too before he'd be cut-off from them forever. But there was a look in Sam's eyes that told him that it wouldn't do any good to stay.

And then, an image of Jasper flitted before his eyes, and Jacob knew that he'd have to go home because he couldn't leave the vampire hanging. He couldn't leave him needlessly worrying about whether or not they'd be separated. Jacob wasn't used to being the center of somebody's world and he was still adjusting to that knowledge; it was all new to him.

Decision made, Jacob turned away and made to leave, "Fine, I'll go. But only because Jasper will be worried." After that, he left them to it.

Silence once more descended on the room, and then tension built up again.

"Here." Emily walked into the room. In her clenched fist were four straws, each was cut to a different length, but their lengths was hidden by her hand. You couldn't tell by looking at them which was the shortest and would be the decider of who was sent. "It's time."

The four wolves who ran the risk of being the Volturi's hostage stood up and walked over. Emily smiled at them as reassuringly as she could, but the pain lingered in her eyes as she waited for them to draw their straws which would decide on the course of the rest of their lives. Whoever drew the shortest straw would have the next twenty-four hours to say good-bye to their friends and family, before they would have to leave to meet the Volturi and become their prisoner.

Again, the pack was being tested, but this time, they wouldn't all be coming out intact. Some scars ran too deep and too jagged to ever heal. None of them would be coming out of the experience in one piece, there was no way that things would ever be the same again when one of them left.

Each of the members took a deep breath as they gathered in a small half-circle in front of Emily as they steeled themselves for whatever the outcome was. All of them were absolutely sure that they were going to be the ones who'd draw the short straw and would be saying goodbye to their lives as they knew them. Slowly, they extended one hand, each reaching for the straw that was closest to them.

The tension in the room could've been cut with a knife, but then the knife would probably break because of how thick it was. No one knew, exactly, what the outcome of this was going to be, and they were all terrified of having to be the one to go.

A collective sigh was released by three of the wolves when they saw that their straws weren't the short one, and that they were safe. Then, dread dawned on them, and they turned to look at the last one, the one who was staring at their straw with a look of horrified dread on their face.

Seth couldn't really describe how he felt at that moment. His fingers were trembling, and his lips had turned pale from the shock. All he could see was the short stub of a straw that was clenched between two of his fingers. That decided it, then, he would be the one who'd go.

"No!" Leah smacked the straw out of Seth's hand, turning immediately on Sam. There was anger and desperation in her eyes when she looked at him, and her entire body shook as though ready to shift at any moment. She would do anything to protect Seth, her baby brother, even if it meant throwing herself at the tender mercies of a bunch of leeches.

There was a look of pained resignation in Sam's eyes when he spoke, "I can't go back on my decision, Leah, you knew that this could happen."

"I won't let you send Seth! He's only eighteen, he's got his whole life in front of him!" Leah's hands grabbed at the front of Sam's shirt, nearly ripping it with the force behind her actions.

"I have to keep my word; I can't go back on that now." Much more gently then he would have normally, Sam removed Leah's hands from his shirt, and instead of pushing her away, pulled her tightly to him in a warm and comforting embrace. His eyes were wet, and he knew Leah's pain too well because Seth was like a little brother to the entire pack; all of them would miss them, and any of them would gladly go in his place, but a deal was a deal.

Seth had said nothing while his sister and alpha argued, and he could only stare blankly at the wall ahead of him, arm still outstretched, waiting for the revelation to hit him. When it did, he found that he couldn't stand up anymore, and collapsed to his knees in a boneless heap and stared at the carpet, trying to will the tears and the sobs back.

Warm arms wrapped around Seth, and Emily pulled him into her own arms in a mimicry of what Sam was doing for Leah. Try as she might, Emily couldn't hold back her own tears, and she instead let them flow freely. The sacrifice that Seth would be making was huge, but it would keep all of them safe, and she knew that even if he was offered an out, he wouldn't take it. Emily had known her uncle Harry too well, and Seth was too much like his father sometimes; both of them were stubborn and determined, and would always face whatever hand life dealt them, no matter how bad it was.

Embry and Paul retreated to a back corner of the room, eyes downcast and unsure of what they could do for their pack. And even though neither of them had been particularly fond of Leah over the years that they'd spent with her – even though she'd gotten better over them – they could understand her pain, they could feel it too. If there was one person who Leah could be completely selfless and sacrificing for, it was her brother.

"I'll go instead! They'll still get one of us, and the rest of us will be safe! Just please, _**please**_ don't send Seth!"

His sister's pleading eventually broke through his numbed sense of being, and Seth knew in that moment that he had to be the one to go. Everyone else had a family, a future, and someone who was relying on them. He might not have been a completely free agent, but he knew that as long as his mother had Leah, she would be alright in the end. His mother would understand.

And if he didn't go, he wouldn't be able to live with himself; he'd be a coward to let his sister go in his place.

"No, Leah."

At that moment, all heads in the room swivelled to look at Seth.

"Wha-what...?"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, "I... I have to do this. We agreed that whoever drew the short straw would go, I won't let someone else go instead of me."

_There has to be a reason that it's me._ Seth clung to that thought, because it was the only thing that helped him to keep his head above the black waters that he'd been dropped into. If he had to go because some higher power dictated it, or because there was some reason for it, then he'd go because there wasn't any other explanation that would comfort him.

"You don't have to go," Emily whispered. "Even if it was an agreement, it wasn't binding."

"Yeah," Embry stepped forward, "Paul or I would go in your place Seth. They'd still get a wolf, and they'd leave us alone; they didn't specify which one of us they wanted."

Paul nodded in agreement, his eyes wide like dinner plates.

Again, Seth shook his head, "No. I'll go guys, it's alright."

"I won't let you go!" Leah broke away from Sam and grabbed her brother's shoulders, shaking him almost violently. Her eyes were wild and her voice cracked.

"I'm eighteen Leah, I can make my own decisions now, and I'm saying that I'll go." He took his sister's hands in his and gave them a comforting squeeze as he mustered up his best smile for her, "I'll be alright, okay? You just look after mom and help Emily with that baby she's expecting."

Standing up, Seth pulled gently out of Emily's hold. He looked up at Sam, and nodded, his smile faltering a little as he did.

"Go talk to your mother. She'll... she'll want to say goodbye."

Seth nodded, and each of the wolves gathered in the small room stood up to say their good-byes to the youngest member of their pack. He didn't fail to notice the pain in their eyes, the resignation, but he knew that they were struggling to deal with decision, even though it was the right thing to do. There was no way that he could hate them for this, not even Sam, because if he was in any of their shoes, then he would've felt the exact same way.

It was past midnight by the time that Seth finally stumbled home, and he wasn't surprised to see that his mother had waited up for him and Leah to return. She'd made it a habit to wait, all night if she had to, for her children to return just so that she could have that reassurance that they were home and that they were safe, so that she wouldn't have to worry about waking up in the morning to find that one of them was never coming home again.

And now she would have to deal with the fact that her son was coming home for the last time; he wouldn't ever be able to come back.

The door creaked familiarly when Seth opened it, and he headed immediately for the family room where he knew his mother would be. Leah's scent was stale in his nostrils, so he knew that she hadn't come home before him; she was on her own, trying to deal with the news of the imminent loss of her little brother.

The only light in the small but comfy and welcoming family room came from the solitary table lamp which occupied the table next to Sue's favourite arm chair, the one that she'd sit in waiting for her children. It was there where she sat now; waiting for Seth and Leah to come home so that she could finally leave for a good night's sleep.

Heart thudding wildly, Seth felt his throat go dry at the sight of his mother and his eyes water. His mother had barely gotten over, not that she ever really would, their father's death years previous, and now her only son was to be taken away from her as well. It would be too much for one woman to bear, and it made Seth glad that at the very least Sue would have Charlie to lean on to help her get through the difficult days ahead of her.

An errant thought crossed Seth's mind: Would his mother have to go through the motions of having to pretend to bury a child to keep his disappearance a secret?

No, or at least, he hoped not. A public spectacle, one where she'd have to deal with peoples' condolences on the loss of her son would only make it worse. Sue was a strong person, but having to 'bury' a child, even if it was only in name, would still break her. Seth didn't want to have to put her through that; didn't want to have to put Leah through that either.

"Mom..."

"Seth! You're home!" His mother immediately rose from the chair, almost running over to greet her youngest child. She wrapped him up in a warm, motherly hug. "I'm glad that you're home safe... but where's your sister? Did she stay out longer? Did Sam ask her to take a patrol because of the vampires in the area?"

Seth's throat was dry, making his voice rough and hoarse, "I... Leah is... yeah, Leah's on patrol right now. I don't think she'll be out too late though."

"Alright," Sue nodded her head, then turned to head to the kitchen. "I guess you'll want something to eat, then, before you go to bed, right?"

"Yeah, thanks mom. That'd be great." Seth couldn't bring himself to meet his mother's eyes, afraid of what he'd reveal just by doing so. In his chest, he could feel his heart cracking, and he knew that this he would probably miss the most; the normalcy of his life. He'd miss the predictability and just having his family around.

Not having much of a stomach at that moment, Seth picked at the toast that his mother had made for him, feeling very sick all of a sudden. He wondered if he could get away with telling his mother in the morning, putting it off for as long as possible, but that didn't seem right. Sue had every right to know what was going on in his life, no matter how dark or how cruel it was. She deserved to know, needed to.

"Hey mom..."

"Yes Seth?" Sue was washing the dishes in the sink, in warm soapy water, her sleeves pushed up to her elbows to keep them from getting wet.

"There's... there's something that I need to tell you, about what happened tonight." His voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but Sue still heard him.

She frowned, pulling her hands out of the water immediately. Her mother's instincts were going haywire, and suddenly she knew that something was very, _**very**_ wrong with her son. Whatever had happened that night had been serious. No one had died, though, she would've known almost immediately if that were the case; but something was still wrong. Seth knew what it was, and he was scared to tell her; that meant that it had to be beyond just bad news, it would have to world-shattering.

Whether that meant the actual world, or just the Clearwater family's was the big question.

Wiping her hands on a nearby dish towel, Sue grabbed one of the kitchen table chairs and pulled it over to Seth so that she could sit beside him. Reaching out, she took one of his hands in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze, "Whatever it is, you tell me, okay?"

Seth swallowed and nodded. Then everything came out in a rush, with him barely pausing to take a breath.

He told her about how it had been the Volturi who'd been there, and not just the guards, but how one of their leaders had been there. He spoke of how they'd only originally been there to make sure that Bella had been turned, and that the deal they had made with the Cullens had been fulfilled. Then the issue of the Quileute knowing about the existence of vampires, of how humans weren't supposed to know, _**at all**_, that vampires really did exist.

And finally, he told her of the deal the Volturi had struck with them, it's conditions, and how he'd practically blackmailed them into agreeing to his terms. He told her that he was the one who would be leaving with them.

Silence hung over the kitchen, strangling in its intensity. No one moved for several incredibly long moments that seemed to drag on forever.

That stillness was broken as Sue's hands suddenly gripped Seth with such a strong force that it was almost supernatural, and then she stared at him with wide eyes, speaking silently to him of love, loss, and pain. It was an unimaginable pain that was borne out of the knowledge of knowing that she was about to lose a child, a child that she'd loved beyond her own life.

_Life just wasn't fair._

The shock and pain was clearly too much, and Sue keeled over in her chair, unconscious.

Seth caught her before she hit the floor, and carefully, he gathered his mother into his arms, tears streaking down his cheeks, and carried her upstairs and to her bedroom. He made sure that his mother was comfortably tucked in before retreating down the hall to his own room. Since he would be leaving, there were a few things that he would like to pack up, a few things that he still had to do.

Pulling out his backpack which had largely gone unused for the few months, Seth dusted it off and set it, unzipped, on his bed. There wasn't much that he wanted to pack, photographs mostly, followed by a few possessions that were valuable and held immense meaning to him. He wished he could just shove his entire room into the bag, but that wasn't possible.

He took one of the family photo albums, the one that was filled with all of his favourite pictures, and put that in the bag. Next he took the pack photograph from where it sat on his night table, along with the candid family picture that stood next to it; he carefully packed those into the bag too.

For several moments Seth stared at the ratty and old stuffed dog, Moka, which had been his as a child and which he'd only kept for the fond memories it held (and his mother's insistence that he keep it). Then stuffed it into the bag too. A few other photographs followed Moka, and it didn't take long until he was packed and ready for the next evening. Well, more like that evening; it was already well past four in the morning.

Seth didn't plan on sticking around for too long the next day, though, and he knew both his mother and his sister well-enough to know that Sue wouldn't make up until late in the afternoon, and that Leah probably wouldn't return at all until just before he left. So Seth had a few glorious hours left to himself, left in La Push, and that meant that he had a few things that he wanted to take care of.

Taking a seat at his desk, Seth took out one of his old notebooks and a pen and started to write a letter to his mother. When he finished that one, he wrote one to Charlie as well; he figured that he owed it to the man at least, since he was technically his mother's boyfriend. Charlie would appreciate getting some reasons as to why Seth had done this, why he would leave his mother and his sister so broken.

The truth, though, he largely left untouched.

Lastly, he wrote a quick letter to his sister, leaving that one propped up on own night stand, next to a picture of him that he knew she loved the most. He knew that she'd find it there. He took his letter to his mother and left that one on her night stand too, knowing that she'd find it there when she woke, and also that if she did faint again, at least she wouldn't hurt herself doing so.

And since Charlie would be there in the evening, Seth went downstairs and left the letter he'd written for the chief of police there. His eyes stung, but he'd already cried them dry hours earlier. Now a sense of resignation was sinking in, and he knew there was no escape and no changing his fate; he could only hope for the best.

Going back upstairs and into his room, he changed into a pair of old sweats that were his pajamas and crawled into bed, hoping for a little sleep so that he'd be ready and aware when he had to face the Volturi the next day.

He was deafly afraid of what would happen.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

_Mom,_

_Sorry about all of this, I really, really am, but it's the only way. I wish I could've stayed to say this all too your face but we both know that wouldn't go well. I don't want you to hurt or cry anymore then you already, and this probably isn't going to help much, but I just want you to know that I do really love you._

_There's so many things that I want to thank you for, but if I tried to write them all down, then I'd be here for too long and I'd run out of paper. And now there's no way for me ever to make it up to you, but I'm doing this to save you, and Leah, and everyone else in La Push. If there was any other way then I'd take it, but we both know that there isn't another way, and I won't let anyone else take my place. I don't want anyone else to suffer in my place._

_So, thank you for everything. You've been the greatest mom that anyone could've ever asked for, and I'm sorry that things have to be this way, but I love you, and I really hope that maybe we'll get to see each other again some day._

_I'm so, so, so sorry. Please... I hope that you can find it in you to forgive me for this._

_Love Seth. Again, I'm sorry mom._

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:_o-:.**

*clears throat* Yes, hello, I am most definitely not dead, I've just been surprisingly absent for the past month or so due to a little thing called NaNoWriMo; you might have heard of it. This was my project for it this year, and I hope that you will enjoy it because it's been a labor of love and time and sweat and tears. Oh, and I haven't slept very much over the past month; I only sleep properly when I collapse really.

Lots of vitamin water has been drank, and lots of hot chocolate has been made and drank. Lots of sleep has been lost, and lots of time with friends was spent locked away in my basement tapping away at my keyboard to chew away at my word count.

I think that I have made it.

Please leave a review or comment, please!

Twilight.


	2. II Point of No Return

**Notes:** Okay, here's the deal: If you are going to favorite or alert this story, then please do me the courtesy of letting me know why you like this fic. Please. I am begging you. This chapter is dedicated to Possessed4evr, who was my first reviewer of this fic. Oh, and as always, a big shout-out to Shey for being amazing... and pimping my fics.  
**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth; mentions of Jasper/Jacob  
**Part:** II. Point of No Return  
**Prompt:** 010. memory ; o16. fear  
**Words:** 5087 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**II. Point of No Return**

The next day was as grey and overcast as the before had been. Seth slept late into the afternoon before he finally crawled out of bed to face his last few hours in La Push. He wanted to get out of his house before his mom woke up and started worrying and fussing over him, since he knew that she wouldn't accept this; she'd make a huge scene which would only make things that much harder for him.

Once he'd woken up, Seth trotted out of his room and into the bathroom across the hall that he shared with his sister – who he hadn't seen since the night before – and started getting ready for the day. He figured that making the best first impression he could on the vampires who'd be taking him might be in his best interest.

Seth knew that none of them were 'vegetarians' like the Cullens, and he had no idea, really, of what to expect when he went to meet them at midnight. They were gifted, he knew that much, but as for what they were like, he had no idea. The fact that he was walking into a situation involving his mortal enemies (and he didn't count the Cullens among them) without any preparation was scaring the shit out of him. Seth hated the fact that he was still human, which meant that they'd be able to take him out with ease, even if he phased; that wasn't fair, they clearly had the advantage over him. He didn't like that they could easily hurt him and he wouldn't be able to get an attack in at all.

The hot water of the shower was both relaxing and not-conductive to his thoughts at that moment. It only helped the stewing of dark thoughts and horrible situations that he was picturing. After all, he had no idea how the Volturi would treat him.

_What if they lock me in a dungeon? What if they..._ Thoughts like that kept eating at him as he cleaned himself.

All of the 'what if's were bouncing around inside of Seth's head without stop, and he had no idea how to stop them. The worst case scenario was that they'd lock him in some kind of laboratory and run all sorts of painful and drawn-out tests on him before they tortured him to death for fun. Or maybe they'd just torture him into insanity before locking him away until he finally died.

The thought made him shudder, and he turned the water off and climbed out of the shower.

Seth dried himself off quickly and didn't bother with the hair brush as he pulled on his sweats as he went about brushing his teeth; Leah had told him often that he had really bad morning breath. Of course, she could've been exaggerating in the way that older sisters went about teasing their younger siblings.

Finishing up in the bathroom, Seth chucked his tooth brush and his toothpaste into a zip-lock bag and then took that back to his room with him and shoved it into his backpack along with everything else that he planned to bring with him. Then again, he didn't know if he'd actually get to use them, but he figured that he'd err on the side of this not being as bad as he thought it was going to be.

Figuring that he had a long journey ahead of him, Seth kept that in mind while also thinking about what would be respectable. He grabbed a pair of his favourite dark wash jeans out of his closet, along with a plain tee and one of his warmer hoodies just in case.

With a last look around his room, Seth made his bed before grabbing his backpack and leaving the room, going down the stairs and into the kitchen. He'd make himself something to eat before going off to spend his last few hours on his own in a few of his favourite haunts.

Or, at least, that had been the plan until the phone rang.

Lifting the phone from its cradle, Seth answered it, "Hello, Clearwater residence."

"Seth? Is that you?" It was Alice's voice, Seth recognized it in a heartbeat. The tiny vampire was one of his closest friends.

"Yeah, it's me. What's up Alice?" He sincerely hoped that she hadn't heard yet about how he was leaving, because he really did enjoy the time that he got to spend with her and her family.

What with Jacob's imprinting and all, he'd been spending a lot of time with Cullens. Sam might have asked that he spend that time with them, but Seth would've done it on his own; he didn't need to be ordered to do it. He was pretty sure that he and Jacob were the only ones out of the entire pack who could stand, and actually enjoyed, being around the Cullens for any length of time. Then again, Jacob pretty much lived at the Cullens' place; Seth just went around there to hang out with Edward and Alice, and Bella on occasion.

"I... I'm so sorry," her voice was soft, broken, and apologetic.

Seth hated to hear the normally bubbly and energetic vampire sound so heartbroken. And in that moment, he realized just what she was apologizing for.

"If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't be in this situation; you can't imagine how horribly guilty all of us feel for getting you into this situation." He heard her give a dry sob over the line, knowing that she'd be weeping right that moment if she was capable of it. "I should've seen that they were coming... I should have warned all of you not to be there; this is my fault."

"Hang on Alice! It's not your fault, things slip through sometimes, you said that yourself!" Seth didn't want Alice to blame herself for the turn of fate that he was experiencing. He needed her to continue being that ray of light in everyone's lives that she was. "Sam wanted us there anyway, and you know that he doesn't listen to you at all, so even if you'd told him that they were coming, he wouldn't have listened to you."

Both of them knew that that was true. Sam put absolutely no stock in any of Alice's visions, no matter how set in stone they were; like what the weather the next day would be like. And even if they did play out to be true, he said that relying on something so unpredictable and easily changed was stupid. Seth thought it was because he was a bit bitter about how he didn't like how his future had been set and immutable since the moment he first phased.

"... It's just that I – I keep thinking that this could have turned out so much differently then how it has." She paused, and there was the sound of slight shifting in the background. "I even went to Aro after you left... I offered to go in your place; I knew how much he wanted my gift in his collection."

"What?! No, Alice you can't!"

It had been no surprise to Seth that the Volturi would be interested in Alice; her ability to see the future held the possibility of being extremely useful in the right person's hands, and also incredibly deadly. But Alice detested the taking of human life – she'd been able to hold in her blood lust since she'd been 'born' – and so she'd never misused her gift or used it for cruel or evil intentions. And she fit in well with the Cullens; bringing a certain life to them that they lacked without her there. There was just no way that Seth would ever let her leave, not when doing so would destroy her soul.

She continued on, undaunted, "Aro was delighted to see me offering myself up like that, he would've taken both of us. But when I told him that I wouldn't go if he insisted on taking you, he told me that it was either both of us or just you. He wouldn't accept a compromise..."

"Alice, you can't go with him. I won't let you."

"But–"

"No way! You have to stay here; this is where you belong and where you're needed. I'll be fine on my own, alright?"

"Will you stop by at least? I want to be able to say goodbye to you in person, all of us would."

Seth didn't even have to think twice; the Cullens were a second family to him, "Yeah, I'll be right over."

"Okay." The line clicked dead.

For a few moments, Seth stood there with the phone in his hand and held to his ear, the dial tone echoing in the silence. He hadn't taken into account the Cullen family wanting to say goodbye to him when he'd planned out his day, but when he gave that a little more thought, he realized that he'd been a complete idiot to think otherwise.

_Of course they'd want to say goodbye_, he reprimanded himself,_ if they're going to go about blaming themselves for this then it would be so painful for them to let me leave without getting the chance to apologize. But it's not their fault, I have to make sure that they know that._

Hitting the end call button, Seth set the phone back in its cradle and made his way towards the kitchen door. He'd skip making himself something to eat since Esme would want to make him dinner that evening as her last gift to him and also as her way of apologizing to him. Seth knew that this would break Esme's heart almost as much – if not completely – as it would hurt his own mother, and that only made him feel worse about the entire situation. Esme was too loving a person to have to go through something like this, she was tough, but not as tough as his mother or his sister were.

How would all of them deal with him being gone? Seth knew that Jacob was beating himself up over the entire situation, even though Seth couldn't see how it was his fault _**at all**_. But he and Jacob had grown close over the years since that fateful battle against the newborns, and Seth had been one of the first people to support Jacob's unusual imprinting one hundred percent right from the start.

Seth continued his musings as he left his childhood home, making sure to lock the kitchen door behind him before he set off into the woods in the direction of the Cullen house. If he had any time after visiting them, then he'd head out to the cliffs which had been his hide-out since he was old enough to explore the woods on his own.

Rosalie would take the news badly, but she was made of the same stuff as Leah was. Women like them were able to pick up the pieces no matter how difficult or painful it was, and move on as best they could. They were the kind of people that Seth admired. He made note to ask Rosalie to help Leah out with all the problems that his sister would face; he knew that he was really all that was keeping Leah tied to her life as a wolf and to La Push itself. He'd appreciate it beyond words if his sister could at least have someone to talk to who understood her on a level that no one else could.

He could see them, Leah and Rosalie, becoming really close, good friends; it was easy to picture.

Emmett would take the news like his wife would, badly, only he'd try to lighten the mood with jokes and fond reminiscing of all the good times. He'd recognize the futility of the situation, in that he couldn't change anything about it, and he'd try to make the best of what little time that Seth had left. Oddly enough, Seth was looking forward to the jokes which he was sure Emmett would be either making at his own expense, or making to try and cheer everyone up. There'd probably be a lot of the bringing up of embarrassing moments too.

The thought of Emmett breaking down like Esme or Alice would inevitably do, brought a smile to Seth's face, and he was glad that the brawny vampire would be there for them.

When it came to Bella and Edward, Seth knew that they'd both probably have the same reactions. Bella would blame herself because it was her fault that the Volturi had shown up to make sure that she'd been turned; especially when she'd wanted to drop by Volterra on her own to prove to them once and for all that they had nothing to worry about. Aro couldn't see her thoughts, and the gifts which worked inside the mind had no effect on her; the secret of the shifters and their existence would've been kept from them.

Edward, on the other hand, would just add the incident onto the long list of ones which he blamed himself for. In fact, he would see himself as the instigator of the entire string of occurrences which had brought the Volturi straight to their doorstep. But it couldn't have been helped; Seth knew that Edward would never want to live in a world where Bella didn't exist, just like how Sam or Jacob wouldn't want to live in one without the one that they'd imprinted on.

Lastly, there was Carlisle. Seth was counting on him to be reasonable one and also the one who'd be able to hold the Cullen family together throughout the trying times ahead. Carlisle would understand his decision to go, even though someone else could've gone for him, and he'd respect the choice that he'd made; even if he blamed himself for letting Aro know about their existence.

_It's no one's fault that my life sucks. I've just got to learn to deal with it, just like I always have._

He picked up his pace to a light jog once he'd left behind the outskirts of La Push, inhaling the forest air deeply as he ran towards the boundary line. The last thing that he wanted right then was to run into any of the others who would probably try and make him turn back to spend the remaining few hours with the day with them, or worse, try to convince him to let one of them go in his place. He knew that Embry would've traded his life gladly for his; Seth knew how much he hated the place.

Luckily for Seth, it didn't seem like anyone was on patrol at that moment, and so he was easily able to slip across the boundary line and continue on to his destination.

From there, it was only a five minute run to the Cullen house. When he arrived, he saw Alice sitting on the front steps, looking like the perfect picture of agonizing depression and it broke Seth's heart even more.

She spotted him the moment that he emerged from the forest – she'd probably heard him coming – and was in front of him in a second, her arms thrown around his neck in a near choke-hold of a hug. Seth wrapped his arms around her back and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"Alice... please let go... you're gonna strangle me...!"

"Sorry..." she whispered, relaxing her grip and instead keeping her arms loosely around his neck. Her toes didn't touch the ground, emphasizing even more just how tiny and seemingly fragile and dainty she appeared to be. "I... I'm going to miss you so much..."

Her shoulders were shaking and her voice was just as broken as it had been over the phone; it was just so much more heartbreaking to hear it in person and know that one was the cause of it. Seth felt even more guilty then he had earlier when he'd first answered her call; hurting people wasn't something he did, no matter what.

"I know... I'm gonna miss you too."

When she finally let him go, she dropped back down onto her feet but never took her eyes away from his. The light gold looked into the dark hazel with such a piercing clarity and understanding, that Seth doubted anyone could ever understand him as much as this tiny vampire in front of him could. He just couldn't see happiness and a special someone in his future; not with the cards that he'd been dealt.

Alice reached out, taking Seth's hand in her tiny one and giving it a squeeze as she turned away and began leading him towards the house. She'd left the front door open.

"Jake still hasn't come back after last night..." she murmured. "Jasper was so worried... and then when Sam called to see if he'd made it back here, he was beyond that; I've never seen him so terrified before."

"But Jasper's with him now." Seth was certain that if the blond vampire was with his pack brother, that the older shifter would be fine; Jasper would never let anything hurt Jacob.

She nodded, "Yes, he called the moment that he found him. I don't know if they're going to be back tonight in time or not, but Jasper wants you to know that he's sorry about all of this, and that he hopes that it will all turn out okay in the end."

_He and I both._

"How's Jake taking things?" Jake was his best friend and his childhood hero; Seth had always looked up to him, and they'd grown so close over the years that leaving him felt like leaving his own brother.

With a heavy sigh, Alice looked pointedly away to the forest, "From what Jasper told me? I don't think that he's taking this well, but then again, none of us are. It's just... this is all so sudden. I never thought that I'd have to go through losing any of my family now of all times, not when I'd just become comfortable..."

"I'll still be alive, you know, it's not like I'm dying."

Seth's attempt at lightening the mood had failed miserably, because it only made Alice let out another strangled sob-like noise.

"It's the Volturi we're talking about here Seth; once you've gone with them, it'll be just as though you had _**died**_. You won't be able to come back, ever." Alice's hand squeezed his a little too tightly, making him wince from the pressure.

"I figured that's how it would be..." Seth took the two steps onto the Cullens' front porch in one, landing neatly on the wooden structure before trailing behind Alice into the huge building.

All of the Cullens were assembled in the living room – minus Jasper and Jacob – and all of them had the same, grim look on their faces. It was as if someone had died and all of them were at the funeral; which it sort of was, considering where Seth would be going. Like Alice had said, he might as well have been dead, because that was what he was going to be to his friends and family who he'd be leaving behind.

Beside him, Alice was still trembling with the force of her suppressed , tearless sobs. Seth dislodged his hand from within her ice-cold grasp and slipped his arm about her shoulders instead in a silent offer of comfort. He suddenly felt as though he should be crying, but couldn't find it in himself to show that weakness, if anything, Alice's breakdown only increased his determination to be strong.

_I can do this,_ was what he kept telling himself, over and over, inside his head. Everyone was counting on him to leave to keep them safe. After all, what was one life compared to the hundreds that would be lost if the Volturi came to 'clean up' this little oversight?

"I'm so, so sorry Seth..." Bella murmured, leaning against Edward for support. She couldn't bring herself to meet Seth's eyes, to even look at him. She kept her eyes focused on her feet, her arm tight around Edward's waist. Much like Alice, her voice was full of a pain and spoke of guilt; just like Alice – like all of them – she was blaming herself for his fate.

He tried to smile, but it wound up falling flat, "Don't worry about it Bella; it's not your fault."

She shook her head wildly, trembling, "No it is. Don't you understand? They came here for _**me**_; if I'd been brave enough, if I'd insisted enough... then this wouldn't have happened. I would have gone to Volterra, showed them that I'd been turned, and then they wouldn't have come here. See? If I'd been stronger, then you wouldn't have to leave."

This time it was Carlisle who interrupted, "That's not entirely true, Bella. Even if you had gone and showed them that we had indeed fulfilled our end of their bargain, they still would have come here looking for us eventually. Aro is a tireless collector; he would never stop coveting the gift you have, or the ones that Alice and Edward possess."

For the first time, Rosalie spoke up, "They would've come here anyway, it was just a matter of time until they did. We just gave them an excuse to come here sooner."

"Then we should have moved on quicker," Esme replied, softly, heartbroken.

It was all getting to be too much for Seth; he was getting tired of seeing his second family beating themselves up over something which they couldn't have stopped or changed. He didn't want them blaming themselves for this for the rest of their incredibly long lives; what he wanted was for them to be happy and continue on with their lives as best they could. Not spend all of that time moping over things that couldn't have been changed.

"Look, it happened," Seth replied, a little more snappishly then he'd intended. "There's no use thinking about what any of us could have done when it's already happened."

Suddenly Emmett was behind him, clapping a thick hand onto his shoulder that nearly sent him through the floor, "That's the spirit; you've gotta be strong Seth, right? We'll get you back one day."

It was nice to know, at least, that Emmett was going to be the optimist. But then again, that was who Emmett was. Sure he was goofy and maybe not the smartest vampire around, but he had a good heart and that was really all that mattered. It was enough to make Seth smile, just a little.

"Yeah, alright."

None of the others seemed to be as hopeful as Emmett was, instead, all of them seemed to be brought further down by his words.

Alice drifted away from Seth's side and to Esme's, who's arms she practically fell into. She started crying tearless sobs, her tiny body shaking from the force of them. Whatever last reserve of strength she'd been holding onto earlier was gone, and now she was just another woman who was losing someone dear and she was powerless to stop it.

Maybe this was what it was like to lose a loved one to a disease like cancer, Seth thought. He'd never experienced the feeling himself; he'd lost his own dad suddenly. Harry might have had cholesterol problems, but other then that he'd been perfectly healthy, and no one on the reserve had thought that he'd just keel over from a heart attack one day. Then again, you usually don't have your daughter explode in a ball of fur into a wolf in the middle of the living room every day. Or have your fifteen year old son sneak in through his bedroom window because of a similar incident.

It had been the phasing which had done their father in, and Seth knew that Leah was still hurting from that. She still thought that it was her fault that Harry was gone and their mother was alone.

But some good seemed to have come from that, and Seth was always desperately searching to see the bright side in everything because it gave him hope that the next day would be better. For their mom, Charlie had come into the picture – although, he'd always been in it somehow – and after a while, Sue had stopped being so lonely. A warmth had come back into her eyes, and she looked so much happier whenever the chief of Forks' police came by for a visit or dinner.

For Charlie, Seth had noticed that he'd stopped having that 'kicked puppy' look that he'd had so often whenever he'd seen him. Apparently Charlie had never quite been able to get over his ex-wife, and it had taken him nearly twenty years to finally be able to move on and find someone new. He couldn't think of two people who came together naturally.

"Seth..."

Rosalie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Seth's head snapped up to meet the blond vampire's eyes.

As always, her face was drawn into a sharp expression, this time of anger, but Seth knew that it wasn't directed at him, and it never had been. He'd never been scared of Rosalie, even when she had her moments where she was like a demon in the flesh; and that had somehow endeared him to her. She'd taken to mothering him whenever she could, but she still treated him like a friend.

"Yeah Rose?" Seth was the only one outside of the Cullen family who could get away with calling Rosalie that; not even Bella was allowed to use that nickname for her.

Her hands balled up into fists at her sides, "Be careful."

Then she'd hugged him and pressed a kiss to his cheek so fast that Seth had no chance to respond. Within moments, the front door had nearly been ripped off its hinges and she was gone. Seth stared wordlessly after her; too shocked to say or do anything.

"Sorry about that," Emmett rubbed the back of his head, grimacing a bit. "I'd better go make sure she's okay. You take care, you hear me kid?" He ruffled Seth's hair playfully.

"I will, don't worry about me; I can take care of myself."

Emmett nodded once, and then he too was gone out the front door in search of his wife.

That left Seth wondering if all of them were going to break off into separate pairs to mourn on their own. He was sort of hoping that Esme would make him dinner before he had to go meet the Volturi. That, he felt, would give her some form of closure.

Edward and Bella, though, were next.

"I'm so sorry..." Bella murmured brokenly again as she wrapped her arms around Seth. She carefully embraced him before releasing him. He could feel her shaking as she did so. "For your sake, I hope that whatever happens with the Volturi won't be bad, and I hope that you'll somehow be happy."

"Yeah, me too." And that was it. Something clicked into place inside of Seth, and it made him feel just a little less guilty about leaving everyone behind. For some reason, some small part of him was saying that it was alright; that he was _**supposed**_ to leave for whatever reason. Going with the Volturi... he was meant to do that. It was enough to give him some small hope.

"I hope that you're right," Edward whispered. "Good luck Seth. I'm sure that we'll see each other again. And I'll always hope that this really will work out for the best." There was a meaning to the last look that Edward gave him that Seth couldn't put a name too, but he guessed that it was just the vampire's way of saying that he'd miss him.

"Well, good luck with the rest of your life; both of you." This time Seth managed a tiny smile.

And then, both Edward and Bella were gone; also disappearing out into the downcast evening to do whatever it was that vampire's did in such situations. Seth could only hope that they'd be alright.

Carlisle, Esme, and Alice had drifted over to the huge cream couch which dominated the living room. Seth joined them after a few more seconds, settling down beside Esme who immediately put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, pressing her ice cold lips to his temple.

"You have to promise me that you'll be safe," she was murmuring. "Follow their orders and their rules; do whatever you have to in order to stay alive. I'd never forgive myself if you died because of us."

Feeling just a little more confident about the situation, Seth nodded, "I will, don't worry; I'll be fine."

Esme frowned, but said nothing more on the subject, and the four of them lapsed into a strange silence. It wasn't quite uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable either; Seth decided to label it as 'awkward' since he couldn't find any other words to describe it. So instead, the four of them just sat there in each others company, enjoying what little time they had left together.

Absently, Esme's hand slowly carded through Alice's hair as the tiny vampire continued to cry into her lap. The heartbreaking sounds were slowly cutting away at Seth's determination, but he refused to give him; he wouldn't condemn anyone else to the same fate as him. He'd carry this burden as best he could, just like how his forefathers had done over the generations since they'd become shifters.

Eventually the silence became too much, and Seth's hunger began to emerge. He smiled weakly at Esme, "Do you think I could impose on you for dinner one more time?"

She gave him her best motherly smile, but now there was something sad in it which chipped away at the usual warmth that was there, "Of course Seth; I'd love to make you dinner before you go. I'll make whatever you like."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Okay, please leave me a review, as mentioned above, if you like this fic and if you either favorite or alert it. I really would appreciate this if you do.

Lastly, I will be updating this fic every Friday – and if I missed a Friday – then it will be updated the next day, on Saturday. Unless something hugely drastic happens, then this fic will be updated every week. So, I hope that this pleases all of you. *smiles*

Twilight.


	3. III Departures and New Arrivals

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** III. Departures and New Arrivals  
**Prompt: **001. Bitter ; 008. never  
**Words: **6166 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**III. Departures and New Arrivals**

Dinner at the Cullens was a somber affair. The atmosphere was tense and awkward, with only a few weak attempts by Esme and Carlisle to break the silence. To Seth, it felt as though he was at a funeral. Only, in this case, the dead person was still alive and people were trying to figure out how to deal with that development.

He supposed that, in a lot of ways, it really was like his funeral; even though he wouldn't be dead.

At least, he hoped that he wouldn't be dying anytime soon; being dissected didn't exactly sound too pleasant to him. Especially if he was still alive when they were conducting it. He refused to think about that, and instead he tried to focus on the positive. Even if all he had to go on to provide him with that one shred of hope was that lingering feeling inside of him which told him that he _**had**_ to go; that this was something that only he could do.

When he'd finished eating, he still had a full hour and a half left until he had to go to the clearing to meet the Volturi. Esme cleared the table in a flurry of motion that Seth had long gotten used to; no one could move like any of the Cullens could. Just like how Esme was in a class all her own, the Cullens had been the ones who had taught Seth that not all vampires were evil creatures who killed for sport and fun.

He would try to keep that open mind once he was in Volterra, but he wasn't so sure that he'd be able to do that. His first impressions of the Volturi weren't exactly all that positive, but he'd hold out on making his final judgment.

As Seth stood up from the table, Alice flitted over to his side and immediately slipped her arm into his. Her face was solemn and down-turned; she gently tugged him from the room, "Come with me Seth... please?"

She turned her face up to Seth's, but her eyes refused to meet his and instead searched his face for something. Her large golden eyes were pleading in addition to the sorrow which had permeated them all evening since it had come out that he'd been the one chosen.

"You don't need to ask me, Alice," Seth replied with a small smile. "I never thought you'd ever ask me to do anything; usually you just drag me off."

"Things are... different now." Alice murmured softly. _I may never see you again._

That made Seth look away, and the smile slide off his face, "I guess so. But I kind of miss your enthusiasm already; it's making this harder."

"Well, for you I guess that I'll have to try harder." She smiled at him as best she could, though it didn't quite reach her eyes; at least her tearless sobs had stopped. That was just heart-wrenching, because it seemed as though she was always on the edge of breaking out into actual tears, but her nature as a vampire kept any from spilling. "But I have a few things for you."

Now that sounded more like the Alice that Seth knew and loved.

"Oh really? Since it's you, I doubt that it's just a few things." Seth's face lit up in a small grin, and he let the tiny vampire lead him from the kitchen and into the main room before following her upstairs at a pace that would have a human going at an all out sprint.

"Rose and Esme chipped in," Alice replied, her voice cracking just a little. "We were going to give it to you for your birthday, but we figured that waiting would be pointless... since you wouldn't be around to celebrate it with us."

Seth shrugged, "You know that I don't like all of you making such a big fuss over me... I sort of feel like I'm taking advantage of all of you."

Alice snorted, "Jake feels the same way; he whines about us spoiling him, though I didn't hear him complaining when Rose and Edward gave him a new motorcycle for his twentieth. Though, I wonder how he's going to take his wedding presents at this rate – oh, and that bridal party that Esme and Rose are so adamant about him having."

At that, Seth couldn't help but burst into laughter despite the solemn air which hung over the entire house, "B-bridal shower?!"

"Of course!" Alice replied, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet when they reached the landing and headed for her room. "If Jasper's having a bachelor party – and there's no way that Emmett would let him go without one – then Rose and Esme are going to commandeer Jake's and turn it into a bridal shower."

"Jake's gotta be pissed about that."

"He was counting on you managing to pull him out of that 'horror', as he called it." Alice opened her door with a flourish, wrinkling her nose just a little. "I still have to see about getting their room sound proofed and soon. At least they won't be here for their honeymoon; so I won't have to listen to them going at it like rabbits all the time."

Seth raised an eyebrow, "They go at it that often?"

"Okay, okay so I may be exaggerating that just a little, but they go at it quite often," Alice shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Honestly I'm surprised they're not sexed out even after three years. But then, I think that Jake is quite capable of being a –"

"I do not need to hear it Alice!" Seth clamped his hands over his ears for dramatic effect. The door to Alice's room closed with a soft click, cutting them off from the rest of the Cullen family who'd remained while the others had gone to sort out their problems with Seth's sudden departure.

"Fine, fine! I'll spare you the details." Alice flopped down onto the arm of her comfy dark brown armchair and gestured at the bags gathered around it and her feet. "I got you some new clothes, and Rose went and found you something really nice. Esme helped me pick out the best outfits for you to take with you."

Seth scuffed his feet on the floor feeling a strange cross between nervousness and embarrassment, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing right now?"

Alice's smile slipped a little, "There's _**nothing**_ wrong with it, it's just... we want you to make the best first impression possible on the Volturi because that could possibly influence how they'll treat you later. We're just trying to think of everything, Seth."

"You've got a point there," Seth conceded. He really had no idea what one was supposed to wear when going to meet the coven that was considered vampire royalty. "So what do you want me to wear?"

Seth refused to look at the labels on the bags, and waited patiently by the door as Alice went through each of the bags and picked different things out of them. Some of the items she threw towards Seth – which he caught by instinct – and others she discarded onto the arm chair to probably be packed later.

From what he could see, Alice and the others had really limited herself in terms of how much she'd bought for him. It was considerably less then what she bought him or Jacob when she went on one of her insane shopping sprees with Rosalie or Esme.

"I got shoes for you too, but just go and change into that while I pack the rest of this." Alice refused to meet Seth's eyes as she began to fold the various articles of clothing that she'd almost carelessly thrown onto the chair. She gestured towards her bathroom which was just off her room. "Go on. I want to see you in it."

Knowing that Alice wouldn't stop harassing him until he fulfilled her request, Seth rolled his eyes and proceeded into the bathroom to change. The clothing was simple but was definitely high quality; the Cullens really didn't spare any expense, which was something Seth had noticed over the years.

Laying out the clothes over the edge of the sink, Seth quickly stripped down to his underwear and was almost mortified to discover that Alice had even tossed him a new pair. What business did she have buying him underwear?! Shoving aside his embarrassment, Seth was about to pull on the pants that Alice had given him when he realized that his own baggy underwear would show under the relatively tight pants.

Well, they weren't tight to the point where Seth would consider them indecent, but they were _**a lot**_ tighter then anything he'd ever consider wearing if given the choice. But since he'd promised Alice...

_How on earth do tight pants make for a good first impression?! _

Ignoring the blush which now painted his cheeks, Seth pulled the pants on – which were charcoal grey trousers that tapered in to his ankles at the bottom – before turning his attention to the rest of the clothes which Alice had given him.

Next was a tailored short sleeved, white collared button-up. Seth had never been too fond of button-up shirts since he found them to be a little constricting, but Alice had made sure that this one fit him like a glove without it feeling uncomfortable or clingy. He slipped the shirt on over his shoulders and buttoned it up. For a moment or two, he debated whether or not to tuck it into the trousers, but decided not too.

The last two items which lay innocently on the sink were a black tie – why Alice had chosen a tie was beyond him – and a black, long-sleeved cardigan. Seth put the cardigan on, finding that it hugged him just like all the clothes did, and buttoned up the front of it to about mid-chest. Then he glared at the tie.

He had no idea how to tie a tie.

A soft knock at the door broke Seth out of his glaring contest with the article of clothing, and he opened the door to find Alice standing there with a tiny smile on her face. As always was the case then, it didn't reach her eyes.

"Did you need some help?"

Seth held out the tie, "Yeah. Can you help me with this?"

Her smile softened just a little, and her eyes betrayed her sadness, "Of course."

A comfortable silence fell over the two of them as Alice's hands worked swiftly over Seth's chest; the cold radiating outward from her hands. Once she smoothed the tie into place, tucking it under the cardigan, she stepped back and took in her handiwork. With a short nod, she handed him a pair of smooth, black leather boots that probably would come up to about his knees.

"Sheesh Alice, I think you went a little overboard with this..." Seth pulled the boots on regardless, zipping up the sides of them once they were on.

"Let me have my fun." Alice's hands were on her hips, and there was a stern look on her face despite the situation; as always, it made Seth smile and shake his head at her sometimes juvenile antics.

"Don't I always?" Seth looked up and into the mirror which Alice had attached to the back of her bedroom door. And even though he thought the outfit was a little over the top in how it showed off his body, he did have to admit that he looked good; he looked put together. "Heh, I owe you for this Alice."

Again with the sad smile, "You don't owe me anything Seth." _If anything, I owe you. I owe you so much._

"Did you finish packing everything else?" Seth took a quick glance around the room, noticing that all the other clothes which Alice had thrown onto the chair were gone, and there was now a neatly packed in the place of his backpack. "Okay... nevermind then..."

"I didn't think that they'd let you bring anything more then a single bag," she murmured. "I hope you don't mind that I added a few things to your few possessions that you're taking with you, in addition to the clothes that I packed."

Finally Seth returned her almost eternally sad smile with one of his own, "That's fine Alice."

And then, because it seemed right to him, Seth reached out and pulled the tiny vampire into a warm embrace.

"Thank you so much Alice. I won't ever forget you."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

When Alice and Seth returned to the main floor, they found the entire Cullen coven there waiting for them. Even Jasper and Jacob were there.

Seeing Jacob was like leaving his mom and his sister all over again. The young shifter looked almost completely broken, and anyone in the room could've accurately said that the only thing that was keeping the young man sane was his mate who even then was constantly at his side.

Jasper's hand rested over Jacob's, squeezing it gently, while the other arm was wrapped around his significantly younger lover's shoulders. The vampire's mouth was drawn into a thin line, and his eyes seemed much more tired and stricken then any of the others; all of the sorrow and guilt were building up inside of him because of his 'gift'.

"Seth..."

That seemed to signal something, because all of the Cullens surged to their feet when Jacob spoke. The older wolf immediately broke away from his mate, coming over and wrapping his arms around the smaller wolf in a brotherly embrace. Seth returned it, imbuing it with all the feelings that he wanted to convey.

_Please don't cry for me. I don't want all of you to cry for me._

But Seth knew that telling Jacob not to cry would be stupid, since the older wolf would then insist on it. No one else in the Cullen family could cry except for Jacob – and he technically wasn't even an official member of it yet – and that meant that he had to cry for all of them. Or, at least, that was what Seth was sure that Jacob would say to him.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize..." Seth murmured as they pulled away.

Jacob immediately fell back into his lover's embrace, welcoming the strong, cold arms which encircled his shoulders, "Somehow... I feel that I have too. Even if this isn't my fault. But also... I can't go with them to see you off."

That confused Seth, "Huh?"

Jasper answered this time, his voice soft and low, "We don't want the Volturi to take anyone else with them. Aro might... choose to take Jake with them if he's there, or he may fixate on him despite..." _I just want to keep him safe. I can't ever lose him. If I lost him..._

"That's okay. I understand." Seth gave Jasper his best smile. He could understand why the vampire would want to keep his mate – his lover and fiancé – safe even if the risks were low. Seth couldn't be mad with either of them. "Good luck with your wedding, Jake. I hope the 'bridal shower' isn't too bad."

Jacob snorted, "You heard about that, huh."

"Alice told me."

"Stupid vampires... treating me like a girl... I'm not a 'bride' you know..." Jacob muttered darkly. He drifted away a little, sorrow forgotten for a few moments as he grumbled about 'stupid vampires and their backward ways'.

Of course, that made Seth smile just a little, and seemed to break some of the tension in the room.

Jasper frowned at his now fiancé's dark muttering, "I do believe that I'm one of those 'stupid vampires', Jake."

With a snort, Jacob playfully pushed his mate, "You don't count; I'm talking about your sister and 'mother', here."

Alice grinned, "Come on, Jake, you're the last one of us that I'm going to get to see get married, and it's only one little bridal shower, you can stomach that, can't you? I don't think you'd appreciate the kind of bachelor parties that Emmett throws."

"I believe I'm already regretting the decision to allow him to plan it," Jasper muttered, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

Something that Seth had learned over the years was that even though vampires technically weren't supposed to be able to feel physical pain, Jasper often developed headaches when the emotional atmosphere of a room was charged particularly strongly. Often it was caused by too many people having too many conflicting emotions that it became difficult for him to sort through them all.

Emmett was grinning like the cat who'd eaten the canary, "Aw, c'mon Jazz I'm sure that you're going to love it! Live a little."

"Need I remind you Emmett that I was already dead and over seventy years old when you were turned."

"Quit making yourself out to be some old man; you're going to make Jake feel awkward about all of this," Emmett nudged the older vampire with his elbow.

"Like I don't already." Jacob pointed at Emmett's chest, his body language and tone of voice threatening, "This bachelor party of yours had better not involve strippers or hookers. Come to think of it, it had better not involve women who work in any profession that could have to do with sex."

"Someone's jealous," Emmett joked; not taking the threats seriously.

Rosalie interrupted her husband's tirade before he had an armful of pissed off werewolf on him trying to scratch his eyes out. She reached up, standing on her tiptoes to reach, and grabbed his ear firmly, pulling it down, "Shut up Emmett. And Jacob is right: If you hire strippers or hookers, it won't be just him who you'll have to protect your ass from."

"… yes Rose."

It was funny how someone as big and brawny as Emmett could be scared by someone who was as model-like and almost dainty as Rosalie; but the female vampire was just downright scary when she was angry.

A silence fell over the group then, and the light atmosphere was dispelled and that somber one from earlier returned with what could be considered a vengeance. It felt choking, the silence, and none of them dared to break it.

Eventually, Carlisle did.

"If we're to make it to the clearing by midnight, then we should be off."

"Right…" Suddenly Seth was unsure, but then he thought of Leah and his mother, and he felt his courage return. He was doing this for them and for everyone else he cared about. "Wait… 'we'?"

This time it was Rosalie who spoke, "You don't think that we'd let you go to them alone, did you?"

"Yes, we'll take you to them." Esme smiled warmly up at Seth with that motherly smile that she reserved for all of them. "It's the least we can do for you."

"You've done so much for us," Alice added. "We can't forget that. If we let you go alone, then we'd feel only that much more badly about all of this."

"If Jane's going to be there, then I would feel so much more comfortable if I was there to keep her from hurting you," Bella murmured. "After all, they originally just came here for me." _I want to protect you for as long as possible… it's my fault you got mixed up in all of this. _

"You're a part of this family now." Jasper stepped forward and wrapped one of his arms around Jacob's shoulders in a comforting gesture. "Family looks out for family."

"I'd go if I could," Jacob replied. "But they're not going to let me, and if I even try to, then they're going to knock me out. So Seth? Just be safe." _I hope that you'll be happy one day._

"Thanks Jake."

For a brief moment, Jasper looked between his mate and Seth, before seeming to come to some sort of decision, "I'll stay with Jake here, to make sure he's safe." _I don't want to leave him alone… not like this, and not right now._

Jacob was already shaking his head, "No. I want you to go with Seth too, Jasper. That way I know that he got there alright. I want you to go for me."

The pleading in Jacob's voice and face seemed to win out in the end, because Jasper joined Seth's little escort guard. Before the group of Cullens who'd be escorting the young wolf left, Jasper reached out and cupped his mates face in his hands, pausing to search his face for a few moments.

"If you do something stupid, I swear I'll kick your ass." Then he pressed his lips to Jacob's for a brief moment before he pulled back again.

"Same here." Jacob walked them to the door, staying inside the huge house as the Cullens and Seth assembled on the porch. With sad eyes, he watched as the vampires assembled in a loose formation around the young man who'd quickly become his best friend.

"Hey Seth? If you ever do come back, make sure you visit." Then the door to the house closed, cutting Jacob off from view.

Seth and Jasper were the two who looked back at the door with looks of guilt and pain written across their faces. But neither of them could afford to get overly emotional at that point because they both had something that they needed to do.

The run to the clearing was, in Seth's opinion, far too short but at the same time it seemed to drag on forever. None of the Cullens said anything, and he couldn't find anything appropriate to say to any of them, to thank them, to say goodbye. He'd never really been good with this kind of thing.

When they finally reached the clearing, Seth was a little surprised to find that the Volturi delegation was already there waiting for them. His heart started to pound wildly with fear at the knowledge that this really was happening to him; that it wasn't just a very bad dream. Seeing the various members of the guard and Aro standing there waiting for him just made it all seem very real.

"You're a little early," Aro replied, his tone full of good humour. He cast his eyes over the entire Cullen coven. "Although, the honour guard was not really necessary. We are vampires of our word, you should know that Carlisle."

"Of course Aro," came Carlisle's even reply. It was amazing how he could drain all the tension and sorrow from his voice in order to deal with the fickle and unpredictable leader of the Volturi. "But we only wanted to see Seth off. After all, he is a member of our family."

Aro glided forward with another of his sickly, too sweet smiles on his face, "Well, may I be introduced to the one who will be accompanying us back to Volterra then? Manners please." He gently chided Rosalie who'd fallen into a slightly defensive stance at the ancient vampire's approach.

Warily, Seth took a step forward so that he was standing on Carlisle's right. He met Aro's eyes and mentally willed all of his fear and anxiety into the bottom of his stomach, "Seth Clearwater. I'll be the one going with you."

"Ah, well then, it's a pleasure to meet you Seth." Aro's smile only broadened as he took in the young shifter in front of him. _Yes_, he thought, _he will do quite nicely. _

Edward growled, "He's not a toy that you can play with Aro. Take good care of Seth."

"I wouldn't dream of 'playing' with him, Edward. I'm ashamed that you would think so little of me." A look of totally unconvincing hurt crossed the vampire's face. "I merely meant that he will fit in with our coven well enough. Although… from your mind Carlisle, I was expecting that he would be a bit… taller."

Even though it was coming from someone who was quite possibly the last person who Seth wanted to be making cracks about his height, Seth blushed.

"I'm not that short…" In truth, Seth was on the shorter end of shifter size. Most of the other wolves towered over him since they were over six feet tall; only Jacob and Embry had comparable heights to them, and he was the shortest of the three at 5'9 and a half.

"Ah, do not think too much of it," Aro replied with what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. It only came off as being creepy. "I only meant that I had been expecting one of the… taller among your kind; I'm afraid that Carlisle's thoughts had created a sort of preconceived notion of what you would look like. You have my apologies Seth."

Seth already knew that he didn't like Aro, and he trusted him about as far as he could throw him, which was probably not going to be that far.

Taking in the other members of the guard, Seth noticed that there were three other members of the Volturi there with Aro.

One of them was a timid looking young female vampire whose height was comparable to Alice's. Seth guessed that she was probably no taller then around five feet, and the way that she stuck so close to Aro clued Seth in that she was probably his personal guard. Her hair was short, coming to her chin in the front, and spiking out wildly in the back. She looked pretty enough, but her eyes stayed fixated on the ground. All in all, she didn't look like the kind who saw battle very often.

Beside the timid vampire was what had to be the tiniest vampire Seth had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was long and dirty blond. She was the same height as Alice, but her features were much younger and more akin to those of a young girl then those of a hardened killer. Her eyes, though, told a different story.

The tiny, angelic vampire's eyes were ablaze with malice and hatred. She was alternating glaring between Bella and Seth, who belatedly realized that she was blocking out whatever gift the small vampire possessed and was probably attempting to using on him.

Suddenly he was very glad for Bella's powers.

He couldn't explain it, but he already felt intensely afraid of the small vampire, even though she was practically half his size. Something about her just didn't seem right. She just radiated cruelty and, dare he think it, evil from every inch of her being. Unlike the Cullens, she seemed to be the perfect imitation of the vampires of myth.

The kind that he was built and destined to fight and kill. Or to die trying.

Out of all of them, the big one stood out the most.

He was a bit like Emmett, size-wise, being so tall that he'd easily tower over Seth with a lot of muscle mass. He had dark brown hair, and there seemed to be an almost constant grin on his face; he looked like the type who enjoyed the risk and dangers that his life with the Volturi afforded him. When he spotted Seth, he winked at him.

That apparently caught Edward's attention and he gave the broad vampire a warning look and copied his sister's defensive stance; all the while glaring darkly at both the large vampire and the tiny one.

Aro didn't seem affected by the tense atmosphere around them, and if he did then he was very good at hiding his discomfort. "You have extended the courtesy by introducing yourself, now I think that it is time that we return that." He bowed, deeply and gracefully but it seemed mocking at the same time, "I am Aro, one of the three leaders of the Volturi."

_Definitely the one in charge. _

The timid looking vampire went next. She only lowered her eyes and gave the tiniest curtsy Seth had ever seen, "Renata."

"Jane." The tiny vampire spat out her name with such venom that Seth winced back from it. She definitely was one to be feared. Especially with the hate that she was already cultivating with a passion for Seth.

Lastly was the broad one, who was still grinning as he introduced himself, "I'm Felix."

After that, a sort of uncomfortable silence fell over the clearing as everyone debated about how to say their last goodbyes. Seth was just confused, worried, and scared about what was going to happen to him, and he had no idea how he could go about saying goodbye to what had become a second family to him. He guessed that he'd just have to wing it, like he'd done for everything which had cropped up in consequence of this.

Of course it was Aro who broke the silence, and his impatience was almost palpable, "Well, shall we be off? We do have quite a lot of ground to cover in order to arrive in Volterra in a timely manner."

"Right…" Seth managed to get out in a soft, almost strangled voice.

Alice threw her arms around Seth's neck, again sobbing dryly, "Take care of yourself Seth; I won't ever forget you." She kissed his cheek briefly before releasing him and stepping away to allow the rest of her family to say their goodbyes.

"None of us will be forgetting you anytime soon," was what Rosalie told him as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. "You're better then Jacob at getting under my skin sometimes, don't change that."

The tall beautiful vampire also pressed a kiss to Seth's cheek before pulling away, taking his hands in hers and giving them a comforting squeeze with a sad smile before stepping back to let her husband have his turn.

Emmett was still grinning, but now there was an edge of sadness in his gold eyes, he playfully punched Seth on the arm, "You take care kid."

"I'm not a kid," Seth snapped back, automatically with a tiny grin on his face too.

That made Emmett chuckle, and he playfully ruffled the wolf's hair, "To me you are. We'll see you again sometime." The surety in his tone caused a warm feeling to surge up in Seth's chest.

Then he too stepped back, allowing his adoptive parents and the leaders of the Olympic coven to come forward to bid their goodbyes as well.

Just as he'd expected, Seth found himself smothered in one of Esme's motherly embraces. He patted her on the back, somewhat awkwardly because his arms were half-pinned to his sides by her fierce strength.

Like Alice, Esme's shoulders were shaking with the force of suppressed sobs. No tears would fall, though, and she murmured, "You will always have a home with us. We love you Seth and will miss you dearly, so please take the best care of yourself as you can."

Carlisle wrapped an arm around Seth's shoulders in a one-armed hug, "As Emmett said I'm sure that we'll see each other again, and until then, I hope that you take care of yourself and that you're happy."

Through all of the goodbyes, Seth had managed to keep his own tears at bay, but Esme and Carlisle's kind words were his restraint's undoing, and a few tears spilled over. He struggled to answer them, "Thank you. Really. I'll do the best I can, promise."

Esme smiled up at him warmly, even though the pain on her face and inside of her was clear, "Thank you." She and her husband stepped back, joining the rest of their family.

Edward and Bella were next, both taking turns to give him warm embraces – the kind that siblings gave each other – and offering their own words of farewell.

"I'm so sorry that all of this happened, Seth," Bella murmured. "I can't help but feel guilty that if I had done as I'd planned to do, than this wouldn't have had to happen. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's alright Bella." Seth gave her his best comforting smile, "No one could have expected this to happen; you don't have to blame yourself for it, I don't."

She weakly tried to return his smile, but it looked too sad to really count, "Thank you Seth. I guess I don't have to tell you to be careful, but I will. You'd better stay safe!"

"I will." _I promised Esme that I would. _

"You'd better," Edward murmured with a small, crooked smile that had seemed to become his trademark over the years that Seth had known him. "Or else none of us are going to be able to forgive ourselves."

"I said I'd do my best." _I can't make any guarantees; not with __**them**__ involved. _

Edward smiled and began to speak slowly, "I told Jacob once that he was very lucky to have a connection to your mind. You have one of the purest, most kind minds that I've ever come across. I hope that just because you now reside with them doesn't change that. I'll miss getting to hear your thoughts."

At that, Seth couldn't help but blush. It was rare that Edward gave people such blatant compliments, and Seth knew that that was the highest compliment that anyone could probably ever give him. Edward had 'heard' many peoples' minds, and to be told that he had one of the nicest was a very good compliment and parting gift.

"I don't think there's much that could change that about me."

At that, Edward's smile turned a little sadder, "I hope that you're right Seth. I hope that you're right about all of it."

"Me too."

Jasper was the last one to say goodbye, and he couldn't even muster the smallest of a smile. All of the emotions of his family and Seth were weighing on him, and it showed in his face and eyes, "You take care of yourself, Seth. I'm going to miss your optimism; heaven knows that we need it."

"Thanks. You'll look after Jake for me?"

"He's everything to me. I'll do more then that, but I just want you to be happy right now, since I know that he wouldn't ever forgive himself if you didn't."

"I promise that I will."

Jasper nodded, than in what had to be a spur of the moment thing, he embraced Seth too. It was the first time that the blond vampire had initiated contact between them in such a familiar manner; normally he left that sort of thing to Jacob.

"Take care."

And then Jasper stepped back to join the rest of his family, his face falling into a careful mask of neutrality. He'd resigned himself to this just as all the others had, and it gave Seth a sort of strength from seeing him act that way. Jasper had to be strong for Jacob, who would be dealing with this harder, possibly, then any of the Cullens since he'd known Seth for a considerably longer amount of time then any of them.

Knowing that it was time, Seth stepped warily away from the vampires who'd become his second family, and joined the Volturi who stood waiting for him. For a few seconds it looked as though Aro might put an arm around his shoulders in a mockery of a comforting gesture or a 'welcoming' one, but then the ancient vampire seemed to decide that it would be better not too. The looks that the Cullens were giving him would have killed if it was possible.

Jane disappeared into the woods first, followed closely by Renata and Aro – the former of whom stayed very close, which affirmed Seth's observation that she was probably Aro's personal guard – and then Felix nudged him.

"Move it."

And with one final glance back at the Cullens over his shoulder, Seth turned away away from them and plunged into the woods after Aro, with Felix close behind him.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

If anyone is wondering, Marcus' first appearance in part five. I just thought that if my readers were beginning to get anxious about whether or not Marcus is actually going to appear at all that I should just tell him when he appears. As always, part four will be added next week. I hope that this chapter was enjoyed.

As always, leave a comment if you enjoyed this fic. I always appreciate the feedback, no matter how miniscule. So thank you to all of you. *smiles* You all know that I write for both my own enjoyment with the hope that others will enjoy my work. Oh, and if you are going to favorite/alert this fic, then I will insist that you do leave me a review since that allows me to know what needs changing - if needed - or what you liked about it. Thank you so very much.

Thank you all, and a very Merry Christmas to you! Or Happy Holidays if you prefer me to be more politically correct.

Twilight.

PS. For those interested in more Marcus/Seth, then go and check out my other Marcus/Seth (Mareth) fics, _Acedia_, _i would follow you to the end of forever_, and my Christmas fic, _Silent Night_. Thank you all!


	4. IV Laying Down the Law

**Notes:** Apologies for the late wait; there will be a continuation of another of my Marcus/Seth fics, _Silent Night_, on my LJ that will contain some lovely smut. I hope that makes up for the delayed wait for this chapter. Part five will be up on Friday, as promised. Again, I'm very sorry about the long wait.  
**Title:** Complexity**  
Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
Part:** IV. Laying Down the Law**  
Prompt: **018. escape**  
Words:** 5646 words**  
Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**IV. Laying Down the Law**

Seth really, **_really_** didn't get the appeal of flying. He knew that part of the reason why people flew was because it was more easy and convenient then say driving or taking a bus or something, not to mention that it was probably much safer. But since he was going to Volterra, Seth wanted to know why they couldn't have just gone by sea because he didn't fancy having to spend the entire flight there in an airplane bathroom hunched over the tiny toilet waiting for his stomach to finish expelling its contents.

They hadn't even been in the air for an hour, and already Seth wished that it was over.

He didn't get seasick at all, but that might have had something to do with how he was born in a small town that bordered on the Pacific Ocean so he'd grown up on the water quite a bit. The rhythmic movement of the waves was calming, and that was one thing that Seth knew he'd never stop missing about La Push, apart from all of the people he'd been forced to leave behind.

Being airsick wasn't something that Seth had had to be very conscious of before because his mom and sister knew about it and wouldn't force him to fly anywhere. It also helped that all of his relatives lived in very close proximity, which meant that he could pretty much just jog over to their place if he ever felt the urge. There were some definite benefits to being a shifter.

And then Jane wasn't helping matters any by constantly banging on the door and yelling at Seth to be careful about where he puked since the absolute last thing that she wanted to do was clean up 'dog sick' from where she was sure it was going to be splattered.

Seth thought that she hardly deserved the description of 'angelic'. The tiny vampire was a devil masquerading under the guise of an angel, but she definitely was one and that hadn't taken him very long to figure out.

"Are you almost done? I can smell your sick from out here wolf, and it's not exactly helping your scent much either!" Jane was fuming outside the door. When they'd entered the Seattle airport earlier in the evening, Aro had charged her with keeping a close eye on Seth to make sure that he didn't misbehave or get lost.

She could use as much force as she 'deemed necessary', and Seth didn't feel that that boded well for him at all. He felt very vulnerable around Jane, despite the fact that she was tiny in comparison to even him. There was probably a very good reason why Aro trusted her – and **_valued_** her – so much, and Seth was pretty damn sure that it had nothing to do with her **_wonderful personality_**.

For a few moments, Seth's stomach quieted down as they settled into their cruising altitude and he flushed the toilet, but he knew that if they hit any turbulence that he'd be sick all over again, so he chose to stay in the bathroom. He flopped back onto his butt, and leaned against the tiny sink, wiping his forehead and mouth off on the back of his hand.

Jane's ranting had quieted down outside to a low, continuous grumbling of complaints.

Left with several hours with nothing to do, Seth spent the time contemplating the Volturi members who he'd been introduced to thus far.

Firstly there was Jane, but she hardly needed any thinking over since Seth was pretty sure he already had a pretty firm grasp on her personality after having only known her for a short period of time. Jane was sadistic and cruel; seeming to love her high position in the Volturi and being able to abuse the power that came along with that. She didn't seem to have much restraint, and there didn't seem to be anyone who she would actually listen to.

Apart from Aro, but the ancient vampire hardly seemed willing to go jumping about and heading off all of her cruel actions before she could do any of them. In fact, Aro seemed to revel in evil acts which Jane committed, maybe even encourage them.

He already knew that Aro couldn't be trusted and that it was probably in his best interest to avoid Aro as much as possible.

Renata was definitely a body guard. Seth had seen enough of her behaviour, how she lingered around Aro and always positioned herself around him to offer him protection showed that much. He had no idea what her gift was, but he guessed that it was some sort of 'shield' like Bella's; although it probably manifested itself differently then hers.

She had a submissive personality and she easily submitted to orders. It was obvious that she'd been conditioned to be so, whether that was in this life or her previous life or a combination of both, though, was up for debate. In any case, she refused to meet Seth's eyes on the few occasions that she'd spoken to him since they were first introduced, and he doubted that that would change.

In a fight, Seth could easily beat her even without the rest of his pack; she wasn't someone who was accustomed to battle.

Felix, on the other hand, was definitely a battle-hardened vampire who enjoyed the thrill of it and just loved it overall. He reminded Seth a little of Emmett, and he was the most friendly out of all of the vampires of the Volturi who Seth had been introduced to. But that wasn't saying much since Felix would usually wrinkle his nose whenever the young man was around and comment on the smell in a sort of casual way.

He tended to ignore Seth, though, for the most part. Oddly enough, Seth found that he didn't mind that so much; it was better to the alternative.

Aro hadn't stopped with the non-stop questioning since they'd arrived at the airport and he'd only let up when Seth had started to turn a bit green and had to make a hasty run to the bathroom. He remained there ever since to keep himself from both being sick all over the ancient vampire – and he was sure that **_that_** would go over well – and also to get away from the questions.

He didn't really like how interested Aro was in his kind, and he felt a bit like he was betraying the others by revealing too much to him. And besides, there were a lot of things about his kind that he didn't even understand or know himself.

What Aro seemed to find the most interesting was the concept and idea of imprinting.

"And when you see this person... everything just clicks into place?" The ancient vampire's brow furrowed and he frowned as he digested the new information; storing it in his mind for further examination later.

"Well, sort of. It's like the entire universe shifts to revolve around **_them_**. Once you see them, no one else matters and you would do anything to keep them happy and safe, even if it makes you unhappy. Denying an imprint doesn't end well; for both sides."

Seth had learned that ignoring an imprint could prove to be potentially deadly. He'd seen how Jacob had been determined not to give into his instincts and that desire buried deep down inside of himself about going to at least **_see_** Jasper, and that had turned out well. He didn't even consider just telling the vampire to see if that would get anywhere with him.

But then again, the pressure on Jacob had been immense. He'd been the first of their kind in recent memory to imprint on a vampire, which had led to Paul wondering if maybe there was something wrong with Jacob until the Elders had confirmed that there were indeed legends concerning such shifters.

All in all it had been a weird and slightly awkward revelation.

Eventually the pack had gone over Jacob's head and Leah had been the one voted to go and tell the leeches about his predicament. And, in the end, everything had worked out surprisingly well for all of them.

"And the one who you imprint on," Aro continued, "they don't necessarily have to be human?"

"No. I mean, having a shifter imprint on a vampire is pretty rare; it's only supposed to happen once or twice every hundred years or so."

Aro nodded his head thoughtfully, still wearing that deep expression on his face; Seth could see then why people considered vampires to be so inhumanly beautiful and sought to further immortalize that in their paintings and artwork. At that moment, Aro didn't resemble the killer which Seth knew he was, and instead he looked like some great Renaissance writer or poet, ready to write out another masterpiece.

It was... unnerving, to say the least.

"Can imprinting be... simulated or –"

That made a small smile come to Seth's face, "No. It's something that can't be controlled. I'll only ever feel that way about that one person." _Whether they're human or a vampire, by this point, I'm convinced that it's gonna probably be a vampire._

However, that didn't seem to sit too well with Aro. His expression darkened for a few moments, and the look on his face and in his eyes scared Seth. It was the first time that he'd ever really and truly experienced fear around a vampire; he was usually extremely comfortable with them. Well, Jane would be the exception, and then there was Aro too. There was just someone which didn't sit right with Seth when it came to the ancient vampire, and he got the feeling that the unpredictability of his imprinting was going to be a thorn in Aro's side.

"Hm, well, that must present a problem to you."

Seth shrugged, "Not really. I've seen enough of the results of imprinting to know that it'll be worth it in the end, it's the getting to that point that's the hardest for all of us."

That earned a snort from Jane, "So what? It's not just a happily ever after?"

"Jane..." Renata's soft voice broke up the potential for an argument; even though Seth had no intentions of **_ever_** picking a fight with the tiny vampire. "Please, not now."

For a few moments, it looked as though the smaller vampire would make some cruel remark towards the timid vampire, but then she glanced at Aro. Aro gave a small shake of his head, and that made Jane scowl and she backed off immediately. She took to glaring out the window at the passing scenery that flew by.

After that, several long moments of a sort of awkward silence prevailed in the limo.

Felix, luckily, broke it by elbowing Seth rather harshly in the side – making him wince in pain – and pointing out the window, "There's Volterra."

Leaning over Felix so that he could look out, Seth braced himself by placing his right hand on the arm rest on the door. He peeked out the window to get his first glance at the city of Volterra which was going to basically become his prison; Seth had no illusions that he wouldn't even be allowed out of the city. He just didn't know how they'd manage that, but from what he'd observed, it would most likely be evil and sadistic and there would be a lot of pain for him involved in it.

The city was beautiful.

It was constructed entirely of stone, and it climbed up a hall in layers, at the top, Seth could see a clock tower. He guess that it was at the center of the city, where the plaza was and where all of the action had taken place three years earlier between Bella and Edward. Thinking of them brought a pang of depression straight back to Seth's heart, and he shoved that aside as quickly as he could.

He did admit, though, that it was a place that he wouldn't mind too much being confined to; he'd enjoy getting to explore it whenever he got the chance to do so. There was definitely a lot of history within the city, and he would love to get to know it first hand.

"Well," Aro was saying. "I hope that you will enjoy your time with us Seth."

His smile was disturbing, and didn't sit too well with Seth.

_Just what exactly am I in for?_

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The palace which the Volturi called home was, in actuality, a huge villa that had been constructed specifically for them. Aro was quick to tell him its history; how he had had it commissioned during the early Renaissance, and how it had taken nearly two decades to complete in its entirety.

Curious, Seth asked, "Where did –"

"Ah, well now that, Seth, is a tale for another time." Aro smiled as the door to the limo was opened by a young man who looked to be Jane's twin. "Welcome to your new home."

_Home's where the heart is, dumbass, and I left mine in La Push._

The four of them piled out of the limo and into the cool evening air of a late Italian evening. Renata paid the driver, giving a soft 'thank you' to him, before rejoining the small group as he drove off. She shot Seth a glance before stepping between him and Aro.

Taking a quick look around, Seth watched as Jane leaned forward towards the young man who had come to welcome them, grasping hold of his forearms as she kissed both of his cheeks in greeting; he quickly returned the gesture.

"Welcome back mia cara sorella," he murmured.

She smiled back at him; it was the warmest expression that Seth had ever seen on her face, "Same to you caro fratello."

Both of them spoke in a language that Seth didn't understand, but from their expressions and their manner, he knew that they were siblings. Although, he had never seen anyone act that close with their siblings; it made him question them just a little, but he decided to push it off and pretend that he was imagining things. There were some thoughts that he didn't need to have bouncing around in his head.

Seeming to grasp that introductions would be necessary, Aro turned towards the two vampiric siblings, gesturing for Seth to follow him just a little until they were in front of them. Renata had, of course, followed close behind; Aro's ever present shadow.

"Alec, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to our newest addition?" Aro spoke in a light tone with a soft smile to the young man, who looked up at him with an almost veiled sense of boredom. "This is Seth Clearwater, he's one of those shifters that I called ahead to talk about; he has agreed to join us."

_Blackmailed into coming with you is more like it._

At that, Seth gave an incline of his head with a quiet, "It's very nice to meet you."

"I see..." Alec murmured. He gave a small bow back to the shifter, "I am honored to meet you Seth Clearwater; you've already met my younger sister Jane. My name is Alec."

Seth wondered if it was a sort of requirement for all vampires to lack last names. Maybe that was something that they gave up when the joined the Volturi, or something that they gave up when they became a vampire. That was kind of... interesting, since all of the Cullens still kept their last names. For the most part at least.

Now that he could get a better look at Alec, he had to admit that when Aro created other vampires, he definitely tended to lean towards the good-looking ones, because each and every member of the Volturi who he'd been introduced to thus far was beautiful.

Like all of the other vampires who Seth had been introduced to thus far, Alec's eyes were a deep crimson color indicating his chosen diet. But unlike his sister who was a pure blond, Alec's hair was a dark brown with blond and lighter browns mixed in as highlights – probably a very good dye job, Seth guessed – but the shape of the eyes was similar if only a bit sharper on Alec. As with Jane, his lips were a little too full, but his face was pale and narrow and he was less... youthful looking then his sister; probably had been turned in his late teens.

Then again, he got called cute too; by his pack mates and by the Cullens. Rosalie was particularly fond of calling him the 'most adorable thing' that she had ever seen. He hadn't been too happy about that, any of it. He took enough ribbing for his height, he didn't need getting more for his looks either.

But he was glad to see that Alec was around his own height if not just a bit shorter, whereas his sister was tiny in comparison.

"I think it's time that we proceed inside so that you may meet a few of the others," Aro was saying. "Follow me Seth."

Nodding almost dumbly, Seth fell into step behind the ancient vampire and Renata, with Alec, Jane, and Felix following close behind. He couldn't help but notice that the small vampire was standing almost uncomfortably close to him.

That made him nervous. He still had no idea what her gift was.

Up a short flight of marble steps was the entrance to the villa, or palace, which was closed off to the evening air by a pair of huge, ornately carved dark mahogany doors that were set into the stone. Around the entrance were carvings of vines, culminating at the top in a decorative knot, at the center of which was the crest of the Volturi coven.

A sweeping porch stretched along the front of the palace, which was separated from the front gardens by large pillars which were painted a rich and deep red, marked at the bottom with gold pressed patterns that went around their tops and bases. A 'fence' was erected along the edge of the porch by high bushes of some sort of red-leafed bush of which Seth didn't know the name of.

"It's called cotinus coggygria," Alec supplied as they reached the top of the stairs.

His sudden speech caused Seth to jump a little since he hadn't been expecting it, and he hadn't noticed that his observations had been so obvious. Once he'd gotten over his shock, he looked at Alec, confused.

"I'm not a gardener," was his bland reply.

That made Alec give a small smile and chuckle, "It's otherwise known as 'pink champagne'. I would be careful; their sap can cause a very nasty rash in humans."

Jane glared at her older sibling as though to say 'You shouldn't have told him that'.

In any case, Alec ignored his sister's dark glare, turning away from Seth to face forward as the huge doors creaked inwards.

The entrance hall was tiled in white marble and reminded Seth of a lot of the Renaissance architecture and decoration which he'd seen in school when they'd studied that period of history. There was probably a lot to learn about the place.

His attention was drawn away from the architecture when he noticed that there were three people standing in the hall as though they'd been waiting for them to arrive. Two of them were female while the last one was male.

One of the females broke away from the little trio, coming forward with an innate grace and smoothness to her movements that would almost put Alice to shame. Her hair was a pretty shade of blond and hung down in soft waves just past her shoulders; her bangs were swept to one side and gently sloped above her left eye. Her eyebrows were dark, revealing that she was very much a natural blond, and dark lashes brought emphasis to her dark red eyes. As every vampire Seth had seen before, she was unnaturally pale, although her lips did retain some light pink pigment instead of being a starkly light shade; he guessed she used make-up. Her curves were soft but very well-proportioned.

He guessed that she was about 5'8, since she was only a little shorter then him. Her clothes were elegant and simple composing of a pretty summer dress and a pair of extremely strappy heels which clicked as she moved across the marble floor.

She came to a stop in front of Aro, a soft smile gracing her features which seemed to make her entire face light up, "Benvenuto casa, amore mio."

He returned the smile and Seth saw a warmth in his eyes for the first time, "Io mancanti tu nonché." He reached out and took her hands almost carefully in his and bent at the waist to press a short and chaste but lingering kiss on her lips before pulling away with a smile, "Io portato un nuovo scoperta indietro con me. Cosí inglese per favore."

Now Seth was able to place the language as Italian, and he wasn't too surprised that they were speaking it. They had had hundreds of years to adjust, learning a new language couldn't possibly take them that long and would have been necessary to blend in with the society of the Renaissance. They probably spoke Latin too.

He'd have to hit the books in order to keep up with them.

The woman glanced at Seth briefly, her nose wrinkling up as she inhaled and caught his scent, "Egli odori qualcosa spaventoso."

Whatever she'd said made Aro chuckle and he quickly replied, "Il odore volontá cambiare. Fare non preoccupare circa quello, Sulpicia." He pecked her once more on the lips, "Now, if you would please introduce yourself..."

Her eyes hardened when she turned them to Seth, but she did give a small curtsy, "I am Sulpicia, Aro's wife and mate."

"Seth Clearwater."He returned the courtesy she'd shown him and bowed to her; he knew that he'd have to stay on her good side because this woman seemed totally and completely haughty and stood-up, very much like the aristocrats of old. "It's an honor to meet you."

Sulpicia seemed mollified by his show of respect and stepped back to stand beside her husband.

That left the other two blond vampires who still stood in the middle of the entrance hall beside a rather large oak table on which were several large vases of flowers.

The female had the same natural blond hair as Sulpicia, only her eyes were more narrow and her facial structure had a more exotic feel to it. Her lips were also fuller but had that same pale pink color to them, and her eyes had obviously been done up to draw attention to the crimson irises. Unlike Sulpicia, her hair was more curly and fell to about mid-back.

She also had a kinder look in her eyes then Sulpicia.

On the other hand, the male standing next to her had extremely fair blond hair that was slicked back in an almost Lucius Malfoy like way, and it was long, falling past his shoulders in a practically straight line. His lips were drawn in a tight line, but overall he looked to be extremely young whereas Aro looked to be in his early thirties. But there was a dark glamor to him; he was dark despite his fair coloration and pale skin, and Seth instantly knew that he'd be all too willing to make his life a living hell.

The fact that he wasn't bothering to disguise his disgust with Seth's smell made it obvious how much he already disliked the young shifter.

Seth had the feeling that it went beyond his smell.

"Caius, Athenodora, se tu sarebbe." Aro gestured towards Seth, his lips still upturned in a smile. His arm was around his wife's waist in a possessive yet seemingly gentle hold.

The male vampire, who was most likely Caius, scowled, "I am Caius, one of the leaders of the Volturi and this is –"

"I am Athenodora," the female vampire interrupted him with her soft voice. "Caius' wife and mate, as well as Sulpicia's cousin."

Her smile was kind and seemed the most genuine, she curtsied to him as her husband gave a small nod of affirmation at being introduced to the shifter. His black gaze didn't soften despite his wife's more welcoming demeanour.

Athenodora continued, "I hope that you enjoy your time in Volterra, and that you will come to see this place as home in the future."

Her kind words hung in the air and seemed to make all of the Volturi freeze in place for a few moments before all of them seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"... thank you," Seth managed weakly. He bowed to her and Aro. "I really appreciate your words."

He thought that he heard Sulpicia mutter something about her cousin being an idiot and delusional, but he decided to write that off as just him being paranoid. To him, Athenodora was the nicest vampire who he had met in the Volturi. He doubted, though, that Caius would ever let his wife associate with someone like him, especially with how bad he smelled at that moment.

Maybe that was one question of Aro's which he shouldn't have answered.

"_Is there... any way for your scent to change?"_ Aro had asked, his nose wrinkling up just a bit. Seth had to admit, he'd been doing a great job of suppressing his disgust at Seth's smell.

"_According to what the Elders said, they'll only change if our surroundings do so that we can better blend in..." _He chose to leave out the part about how they tended to change when they imprinted so that their scent would better please their mate. No warning would be given on that, since Seth couldn't exactly smell himself too easily; and he thought he smelled fine as it was.

"_So it will change once we arrive in Volterra."_

"_Yes it'll start to change. My scent's already been changing quite a bit since I spent a lot of time with the... Cullens."_

Aro was still smiling, "Ah, do not worry about the smell too much Caius; it should begin to change within the next few days to something more... _**appealing**_."

That made Caius' scowl only more severe, "I still wouldn't feed from him if he was the last human on earth. I don't care how 'interesting' he is Aro, you had better keep him from making the entire palace smell."

Athenodora frowned but said nothing, instead she looked at Seth with an apologetic look on her face. He could understand her situation; she wasn't too fond of his scent either.

"Ah yes. I'm sure that he won't be leaving his quarters any time soon," Aro's smile took a decidedly evil turn. "Now, where is Demetri?"

"He's still preparing the device which you asked for," Sulpicia replied, her tone disinterested. "He told me that once it's prepared, that a few calibration tests will be necessary to determine what level of shock would be most... incapacitating for our young guest."

As she said the last part, a sadistic tone crept into her voice and an almost evil light sparked in her eyes. It was clear that she'd derive some form of enjoyment from whatever torture they had lined up for Seth next.

He knew that whatever it was that they had planned for him, it couldn't be good if Sulpicia, Caius, Aro, and Jane looked excited for it. Seth swallowed nervously.

The doors had long since been closed behind them, leaving Seth with nowhere to run. And it wasn't like he had anywhere to run; all avenues of escape for him had been cut off, and he knew all too well how hard it was to outrun or out manoeuvre a vampire in an enclosed area. The Volturi held the advantage.

"In your absence Aro," Caius began, "I have decided upon a few rules which your... _**pet**_ will have to obey while he's here."

Seth hated the emphasis that Caius put on the word 'pet', and he had to fight back the instinct to growl at being referred to as such. He was no one's pet!

That made Aro's smile turn back into its false cheery one, "Well I would be quite delighted to hear them Caius; I'm sure that all of them are ones which I would approve of. After all, I did give you a few little things to take into account."

"Your requests were noted and taken into account," Caius affirmed. He turned his eyes to Seth, and the blazing hatred in the dark red orbs was quite clear. "You may not leave the city of Volterra, if you do so, then none of us will protect you and you will be subject to whatever punishment that we deem fit."

Seth swallowed hard and nodded. He wanted to look away from Caius' eyes but found himself unable too; something kept his gaze locked with the ancient vampire's.

"Also, you must ask for permission from either myself, Aro, or Marcus to leave the palace and go into Volterra. We will decide later if you require supervision or not."

Seth had no idea who Marcus was, but he nodded his head anyway. He didn't like the idea of having to _**ask**_ to go into the city, or that he might need a 'baby-sitter', but he'd live with that to get some small measure of freedom back into his life.

"The palace is open to you, of course, but certain areas are off limits; namely my rooms, Aro's rooms, and Marcus' rooms." Caius' eyes hardened. "We will arrange for someone to bring your meals to your rooms, which you will be shown to later. Breaking any of these rules will have some rather dire consequences; your punishment will be in Aro's hands."

A loud crash interrupted them; and Seth halted when he'd nodded to acknowledge that he'd understood Caius' instructions. He'd rather not find out what the 'punishments' would be if he broke any of the rules that had been laid out for him to follow. From the look which Aro and Jane exchanged, he could imagine what it was.

A tall vampire dashed into the hall, the door he'd come through slamming shut. There was an almost excited look in his dark red eyes, and it only seemed to burn more brightly when he saw Seth. In fact, he seemed to be giddy with happiness.

"I finished the monitoring device, as you asked for," he bowed to Aro.

This vampire was tall, probably around 6'1, which meant that he towered over Seth almost as much as Felix did. His hair was a light brown that seemed to have a touch of blond to it. His hair was spiky and stood up wildly at the top, but seemed to almost be styled into place around his face to frame it. He had narrow features and slightly prominent cheekbones, along with a narrow nose.

Aro smiled broadly at him, "That's good to hear Demetri, although Sulpicia has told me that calibration tests will be needed."

_So that's Demetri._

Demetri's wicked smile grew, "Yes master. I have never had the honor of encountering one of his kind before, so I have not the faintest idea of what his threshold for pain might be."

Seth was right; he wouldn't like this one bit.

"You brought the device?"

"Of course." Demetri held up what looked to be a strip of extremely sturdy cloth. "All of it is the latest technology of course."

Aro turned to Seth, "Seth, please pull the leg of your pants up and remove your shoe and sock on your right leg."

Nervously, Seth complied even though his hands were trembling. He watched, still shaking, as Demetri approached him and fixed the device onto his ankle. He flattened his fingers over the ends, and Seth felt a bit of heat before it was gone.

"There, now it's permanently fused. If you try to remove it, it will send a signal to the computer and you'll receive an electric shock. I only need to find what setting would be enough to incapacitate you." That wicked smile only grew, and it was mirrored on almost every vampire's face who was in the room.

Only Athenodora and Alec's expressions were different; the former had a look of almost horror on her face while the latter seemed apathetic about the proceedings.

Again Seth swallowed and he tried to brace himself for the pain that he knew was coming.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Oh god, I'm really very sorry about the late update on this! I've been out of town – and I still am – so my access to the internet that I can use to update has been choked a bit. It took me a while to get around to a time where I could disconnect the internet jack from my grandparents' computer and plug it into mine so that I could update... I'll be updating earlier in the day on this coming Friday because I'm flying home later in the day.

_**And, as always, please, please, PLEASE leave me a review if you are going be adding this story to your favorites or alerting it. Please, it's just a courtesy that I'm asking for. You don't have to leave me an epic essay – but thank you to ansera for doing so anyway – but a simple 'I like it' would do just fine. Thank you.**_

If the Italian translations in this part – and in future ones – are off, then my apologies. I don't speak Italian and I was using an online translator in order to get what I did. For those of you who may be fluent, feel free to correct me because I'm always up for learning and I'd love it if this fic was as accurate as it possibly can be.

I hope all of you have a happy New Year's!

If there's nothing good on, I'm having a Trekathon for myself.

Twilight.

**Italian Translations:**_  
'Mia cara sorella'_ : my dear sister  
'_Cara fratello_' : dear brother  
'_Benvenuto casa, amore mio_' : welcome home, my love_  
'Io mancati tu nonché_' : I missed you as well  
'_Io portato un nuovo scoperta indietro con me. Così inglese per favore._' : I brought a new discovery back with me. So English please.  
'_Egli odori qualcosa spaventoso._' : He smells something awful.  
'_Il odore volontà cambiare. Fare non preoccupare circa quello, Sulpicia._' : The smell will change. Do not worry about that, Sulpicia.  
'_Caius, Athenodora, se tu sarebbe_.' : Caius, Athenodora, if you would.


	5. V First Encounters

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** V. First Encounters  
**Prompt: **024. lonely  
**Words: **7314 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**V. First Encounters**

Seth felt like he'd been run over by a Mac truck and then strung up to a telephone. In short, he felt like absolute shit by the time Demetri was done with him and that was only the start of the '_**fun**_' because then Jane had insisted on making him very well aware of just what his punishment would be if he disobeyed any of the rules laid down for him to follow. Needless to say, she'd made sure that it had only been a _**mild**_ dose of what she was capable of.

Needless to say he was no longer in the dark as to what Jane's power was. And it fit her personality to a T; so now Seth could understand how she could be as sadistic as she was, because she had the power to inflict as much pain – or as little – as she wanted. He had very good reason to be scared of her, and scared of her he was.

Once all of the torture and introductions were done, was when Seth was allowed to go to his assigned room in the palace on the second floor. Athenodora had volunteered to show him to his room, but she'd quickly been ordered not to by both her husband as well as Aro, who promised to make sure that Seth was well settled in and that he wouldn't perform any more experiments on the young wolf. Seth found that Athenodora was probably the closest to Esme that the Volturi had, and he was glad that she was there because she could potentially make for a very good friend who had the power to look out for him.

Not that he'd be taking advantage of her, of course, but it was nice to know that he had _**someone**_ on his side.

The room that Aro showed him too was spacious and decorated luxuriously, if not a bit sparingly. It was all made of the same white marble as the rest of the palace was – or at least from what Seth had seen of it – with a rich blue Persian carpet thrown over the floor beside the bed. Seth was surprised that there was a bed at all, mostly because he didn't think that they'd want him to be that comfortable but also because a bed could be hard to find, not to mention put together and then arrange an entire room around it. But then Seth remembered that these were vampires he was thinking about, and he'd seen their insane speed and skill at getting things done on the fly firsthand, so he knew that it was completely possible for this to have gotten done in a matter of hours.

As for the rest of the room, the walls were bare except for the dark blue curtains that were trimmed in elegant silver designs that hung over the huge windows set into the walls. The windows gave a beautiful view of the courtyard below and there was even a set of French doors which led out onto a modestly sized balcony.

The bed was a huge, four-posted with a canopy made up of the same blue fabric with silver designs as the curtains with matching silver, white, and blue pillows and covers. Other then the bed, there was a small table beside the door with a vase of white lilies on it that looked like they'd seen better days, a bureau with a huge ornate mirror hung above it, and a desk with a chair. Everything in the room had an aged feel to it as though it had been there for decades and, in fact, was over a hundred years old at least. Even the vases and little decorative knick-knacks had that same antique feel about them. It was really rather impressive, but it had the feel of a hotel room.

Seth supposed it was going to be up to him to make the room feel like his. It made him wish that he could have brought more then the meager bag which Alice had packed for him. The most that he'd been able to bring were a couple of photographs in frames or scrapbooks and photo albums that Alice had put together to him.

"Well, I hope that you enjoy your stay here and that this room is to your liking." Aro still had that sickly sweet smile on his face that had been plastered to his face since Seth had been subjected to torture by his underlings. The ancient vampire got more kicks out of that then Jane had probably gotten, and that was saying something.

Turning around, Seth gave a short nod.

He heard the vampire chuckle and then the door shut behind him with a sort of finality to it that made Seth wince.

It was the first time that he'd been left to himself for nearly twenty-four hours, and Seth felt oddly grateful for it. He just needed some sleep before he felt like he was alive enough to do anything, and he didn't want to venture out into the palace while Jane was around. The tiny vampire had already expressed how happy she was to have a new pin cushion around for her to use her powers on. It was like he was a squishy practice dummy that made entertaining noises when you kicked it hard enough.

Tomorrow wasn't looking good.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Seth was woken up late the next morning by the sun shining in through the windows whose curtains he'd forgotten to close the night before. Rolling over onto his back, Seth wondered whether or not he should bother getting up and getting dressed since he had absolutely no intention of leaving his room. The last thing that he wanted was to be tortured all over again.

He was still sore from his experiences with Jane and Demetri the day before. Being subjected to more of that wasn't very high on his to do list for the day.

Staring at the ceiling, Seth sighed and thought over everything that had happened to him and all of the vampires who he'd been introduced to the day before. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what to think of most of them. Athenodora and Alec seemed okay, the former was nice enough to him and seemed to have those same mothering instincts as Esme, and as for the latter... after he'd told Seth about the bushes which grew along the front porch of the palace, he'd been very quiet and had said nothing. Overall, Alec seemed incredibly apathetic towards him. That Seth could live with since it meant that the vampire would be less likely to hurt him in any way. Plus, Alec's gift was still a mystery to him.

Sulpicia was in the same league as her husband. She made no effort to disguise how disgusted she was by Seth's smell – which would start to change in the next few days – and just didn't seem to like him at all. It made Seth wonder if she viewed humans as being inferior to her kind and she grouped him in with those same humans because he still had a heart which beat and pumped blood through his veins. Or maybe she just didn't like anyone.

Lastly, there was Caius and Demetri. Caius was the cold-hearted bastard who loved torture and revelled in cruelty. He might have been the more attractive out of himself and Aro, but he was the more outwardly evil. Whereas Aro hid behind a mask of pleasantry and goodness, Caius openly embraced his dark and cruel nature; he seemed to enjoy being an evil vampire who was more true to the stereotype. And as for Demetri... he enjoyed pain and he enjoyed playing with his prey. It hadn't taken Seth long to figure out that he was a tracker and that since Aro obviously didn't accept second-rate, he was probably the best tracker that there was.

So even without the monitoring device strapped to his ankle, there would be no point in running; Demetri would be able to find him no matter where he went. His situation was pretty much hopeless.

All of the other vampires who he'd encountered in the hallways when he'd been led to his room hadn't given him much faith either. Each and every one of them had glared at him and wrinkled up their noses in disgust. None of them had the vibe of 'I'd-be-willing-to-give-you-a-chance', instead they'd given off the aura of 'You-smell-and-I-would-love-to-kill-you-first-chance-I-get.'

There was a soft knock at the door which startled Seth out of his thoughts. He looked over to the door, "Come in."

The woman who stepped into the room was in the same league as Rosalie in terms of looks. She was one of those people who you looked at or saw once and you never forgot them. She was tall, probably just a little shorter then he was, and had a willowy frame, but her curves were soft and her facial features were angulara and sharp with rather prominent cheekbones that helped to give her a rather pretty face. Something about her seemed a little exotic despite how simple her clothes were.

Her hair was a dark mahogany shade with a slight curl that was long fell nearly to her waist. The way it fell gracefully around her face accented her natural – although vampirically enhanced – beauty, but her most attention grabbing feature were her bright violet eyes. Her eyes were unusual because he was sure that she was a vampire – her pale skin attested to that – and also because she carried with her the faint scent of human blood. The scent was naseating and Seth felt a bit disgusted by it even though it was obvious that she'd made an effort to both cover the scent up and clean herself so that it wasn't as strong.

However, her face held a soft expression with a very welcoming and warm smile. It made him feel a bit shocked because the only who had looked at him like that thus far was Athenodora, and even she hadn't been so open with her smiles. But another thing was that she didn't seem to have any problem at all with his smell. Her nose was wrinkled at all, and there wasn't a single hint in her face that his scent was disgusting to her. That made him curious about why she was there.

Well Aro had said that he would have someone deliver his meals to him in his room. That was why she was there, Seth realized. He'd missed the tray of food which she carried in her hands while he'd been distracted by her appearance.

"Hello," she greeted him. Her voice was soft and had a lilting cadence to it which made it very appealing but also had a welcoming sort of feel to it. That was a bit of a first. "You must be the shifter that I've been hearing so much about."

"Uh… yeah…" Seth was, understandably, a little confused. None of the vampires who he'd met had made any real attempts at converstaion, most of them had shied away from him or commented rudely on his scent. It was a refreshing but also surprising, change.

The female vampire continued to smile at him, her face warm and open, as she continued to speak, "I would have come to introduce myself sooner, but I was otherwise occupied when you arrived and then I had some... sensitive Volturi issues which needed to be attended to." _I needed to feed._ She paused for a moment, "I'm sorry about the smell. It doesn't bother you too much I hope."

When she said the last part, her face fell a little and seemed almost sad. She snapped out of it quickly enough, though. Her quick mood swings reminded Seth a little bit of Alice.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, you've got a name right? I can't go about calling you shifter, because that just seems rude to me and it also isn't really appropriate since you're going to be with us for a while." She spoke at almost a mile a minute, and if Seth had been human, he would have probably had had trouble keeping up with her.

"Seth… Seth Clearwater."

"Seth, then, it is a pleasure to meet you." She gave a little curtsy, before placing his breakfast tray on the nearby table at the door. Then she came further into the room, stopping just short of him, before she gracefully sat down on the floor across from him. "My name is Heidi. Welcome to Volterra!"

He stared at her like she'd just grown a second head. None of the vampires had treated him like this! Maybe she has some motive? That was definitely a possibility, but Seth didn't think that she was putting on an act; she definitely seemed genuine, and he was desperately in need of a friend to talk to or to just keep him company at that moment.

"I haven't actually seen the city," Seth responded softly. "I only saw it when we arrived here; I haven't had the time to actually explore it, and besides, I need permission to even leave the palace to go into Volterra. I don't think that asking right now would be a good idea..."

"Well, there's plenty to see inside the palace. If you know where to look for it, that is," Heidi continued on, though her smile had diminished just a little. "But having to ask for permission? That seems a bit harsh to me."

He shrugged, "Yeah well, that's what I've gotta live with from now on."

"I'm…" She paused, and her face seemed to reflect an inner dilemma that she was having. "I'm very sorry about this; all of this. It wasn't fair of Aro to just take you away from your family and friends like that… it was wrong, but I guess he was presented with something too great or interesting for him to just turn away from."

That made Seth snort, "That's the understatement of the century."

"He's always been a heartless bastard," Heidi commented in an offhand tone. "That is something that no one can deny – not even him – but he likes to think that he's doing what's 'best' for the rest of our kind. I still don't know what died and made him king."

"Caius isn't much better." _In fact, I don't know who the worse of the two is._

"Psh, something crawled up Caius' ass and died there if you ask me. But then, if you ask Felix, he'll tell you that the guy's just got a stick the size of a – oh nevermind, I think that that might be just a tad inappropriate to talk about." She smiled broadly at him and winked.

A warm feeling surged up in Seth's chest, and he couldn't hold back the small grin which forced itself onto his face.

That only made Heidi smile more, "Oh great! A smile! Finally! You looked so mopey and down before that I just couldn't stand it any longer; so I took it upon myself to cheer you up." Then she frowned a bit, "Felix thought I was crazy for coming here, but really, I think that you're a fun guy Seth."

He looked at her, a little more serious now, "Why did you come here?"

"I figured that you would need a friend to help you get used to Volterra." Heidi shrugged, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially, "Besides, I figured that it would annoy Caius and Aro just a little."

"Revenge?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ouch that's a little harsh! But no, mostly it's because I thought that you could really use a friend right about now."

Seth smiled a little more, "Yeah, I think I really could…"

"Good! I'll give you the grand tour later, okay?"

Things were starting to look up just a bit right then, and Seth was suddenly finding himself very glad that he got along well with vampires when they were willing to give him the chance.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Heidi spent the rest of the day with him, just talking about everything, only disappearing periodically to return the empty trays to the kitchen and then fetch him lunch and dinner respectively. Seth had been surprised to discover that there was actually a fully furnished kitchen in the palace.

"They had to have it built, otherwise it would have raised a lot of awkward questions," Heidi explained. "It hasn't been used, really, until now. We had to hire chefs from a few different countries in order to get it working, but I think that it's been worth it. The only problem is that know our secret now, and if anything happens and they become a weakness or a liability, then they're dead. No one would think twice about killing a few humans who risked revealing out existence to the world."

That made Seth swallow heavily, "That's..."

"Horrible, I know, but most of us have spent so long living the way we do and with the values that the Volturi hold dear that we have very skewed view on the value of human life." She gave a tiny smile, "And after living for several years the way that we do, you sort of become... numb towards the feelings that regular people hold over killing. You just stop feeling anything when you take another life. It becomes all about survival, although I don't revel in causing unnecessary pain."

_Unlike some of my fellow coven members._

That was understandable. Seth's experience with vampires who didn't live like the Cullens was very limited, so he didn't really understand the how or why they lived the way they did. His only real time spent in the company of vampires who killed to survive were with the newborns who had attacked Forks under Victoria's command in a plot to get to Bella, and they weren't exactly great examples of what vampires were by any definition of the word.

"Oh."

"This is probably not what you want to be talking about," Heidi guessed, relaxing her sitting position. She'd drawn her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I'm sorry about that... I guess I just felt the need to explain myself just a little bit... I want you to understand, but I don't want you to be afraid."

Somehow, Seth managed a weak smile, "Thank you. I appreciate that."

His head was resting on his arms, he'd mirrored Heidi's sitting position, only he was leaning back against his bed as they talked. He felt oddly at peace and comfortable in her company. It might have had something to do with how Heidi reminded him just a little of both his sister and Rosalie; all of them were strong women, but they'd been dealt different circumstances and had learned to deal with their lots in life differently.

"It's nothing." Heidi glanced out the window and at the dark, star-spattered sky which greeted her. "Oh wow, I hadn't realized how late it was... I should probably leave you so that you can get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Seth stared at her blankly. He didn't have anything planned for the next day.

"I was going to give you the grand tour tomorrow," Heidi answered his silent question with a smile. "There's a lot in the palace to see and do if you know where to look for it, and that's why I'm going to help you with that. If you know where everything is, then you'll be able to get around more easily and avoid the areas of highest traffic."

"Because I'd stink up the place."

"More like it will help you to avoid a confrontation," Heidi replied kindly. "Your smell isn't really that bad actually. I think it's getting better already."

"... thanks." Seth blushed a little and then yawned deeply. He was still exhausted.

That made Heidi laugh and give a huge smile, "See what I mean? You're too tired to do much else today. So you should sleep now and I'll come get you bright and early tomorrow morning for that tour. We're in luck for it because most of the coven left for Volterra earlier today. There have been a few political issues which have cropped up along with a few festivals that everyone wants to take part in."

"Vampires like festivals?"

"We enjoy socializing, just like any other human." A wickedly amused grin split Heidi's lips, "That and Felix is anxious for all the fun that we'll get to have with all those drunk humans and their lack of morals when they're inebriated."

Seth choked on air at that, "Please tell me you're not going to be taking advantage of them."

"Of course not." Heidi feigned being scandalized. "I meant that Felix is looking forward to cornering me in a dark alley without having to worry about a couple of humans making a fuss about it."

By that point, Seth's face was the color of a tomato, "So you're an exhibitionist now."

"That's colorfully put. I didn't know that you knew such big words little boy." Now she was teasing, as evidenced by the huge grin on her face.

"At least I'm not an old pervert with twisted ideas of where to get it on."

"Hey, you won't know it till you try it." Heidi winked suggestively at him as she stood up, grabbed the tray and hurried out of there before Seth could make any comeback at all. In her wake, she left behind one very embarrassed and mortified young shifter.

Seth made a mental note never to asked Heidi _**EVER**_ for any sort of advice of a romantic or sexual nature. That would be too mentally scarring for anyone; she knew too much and she'd tell it how it was, or at least how she thought it was.

Without her presence, the room felt noticeably empty. Seth hadn't realized just how big and all-encompassing Heidi was until she was gone. It might have had something to do with how beautiful she was, since people like that always seemed to have this huge and very obvious auras around them. But hers felt genuine and warm and welcoming; it made Seth glad that she was a vampire who'd chosen to come and try to befriend him. He greatly appreciated the sentiment.

Sighing heavily, he followed that up with another huge yawn.

"Guess I should really hit the sack..." That was another reason why Seth hated flying; it exhausted him more then any other means of travelling. It was that and the airsickness which really did him in. He really hoped that he wouldn't be required to fly anymore in the near future because that would be torture.

But then again he was already living in his own personal hell with a devil all its own. Actually, he thought that he had better make that two devils. Aro and Jane weren't going to be making his life any easier.

_And I can't phase with the damn device on me... that's got to be an unspoken rule right there. Well, at least I can hope to live to a ripe old age, maybe I should make that my goal._

Standing up and stretching his arms above his head, Seth felt the bones crack in his back and all of his muscles release a bit of the tension which had crawled into them. He stripped down to his underwear and crawled back into his new bed that was still unmade from his sleep the night before.

Well, it wasn't like anyone was going to care, really, after all, it wasn't like there was some vampire maid service out there that he could just call to do it all for him.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"Wake up sleepy head!" Cold hands had grabbed hold of his shoulders and was shaking him lightly, if not a bit rough then humanly possible. "Oh come on... I brought food."

The hands disappeared from his shoulders, and suddenly Seth's nostrils were filled with the delicious smell of what could possibly be waffles. His half-asleep mind couldn't really process things too well at that moment, but he managed to force his eyes open and he blinked up blearily at Heidi.

"You sleep like the dead, you know that?" she remarked when she saw that he was finally opening his eyes. "And I let you sleep in too; does flying really drain you that much?"

Rolling over and sitting up, Seth made sure that the cover remained firmly over his lower half since he wasn't about to give Heidi a free show. She placed the tray of food on his lap as she settled down onto the edge of his bed for a bit of morning conversation over breakfast; although she didn't have anything.

"I get sick when I fly."

"You – you get airsick?!" Her tone was disbelieving. Her facial expression matched her tone of voice because her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open just a little. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm not; I get airsick. I don't get seasick though, or motion sick." Seth shrugged as he took a bite of his waffles. They were good ones too, although they weren't quite up to par with his mother's home made pancakes; those he missed.

"I guess you don't fly a lot."

"I avoid it whenever possible," Seth grumbled. "There's not going to be any flying any time soon, right?"

"Not unless you want to launch yourself out a window."

"I'd rather not."

Heidi smirked, "Good, because I don't want to have to be peeling a Seth pancake off the marble of the courtyard."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Very funny."

"I'm just full of wit here."

Seth flicked a grape at her head and he wasn't too surprised when it missed and when it thwacked him in the forehead. Stupid vampires and their ridiculous reflexes. That just wasn't fair.

Once Seth had finished breakfast, Heidi took the tray and made him promise her that he'd be dressed and ready to go by the time she got back from returning it to the kitchens. Knowing that he'd be in for worse if he didn't comply, Seth quickly pulled out one of the outfits that Alice had packed for him and dressed quickly.

He'd just finished running a comb through his hair when Heidi returned.

She cast an appreciative eye up and down his body, making sure to pause in all the places that she knew would make him the most uncomfortable, "Oh my, did you have your own personal stylist back in Forks?"

"No, just a shopaholic vampire who loved using me as her personal Ken doll."

That made Heidi's grin turn a little more playfully evil, "Good. Because I'm going to have to take over where she left off. You're going to need a lot more clothes, and nice ones too, if you're going to blend in with us."

And after that, Heidi refused to listen to any of his arguments on the subject, because deep down Seth did know that he would need new clothes sooner or later because Alice hadn't pack him much and clothes had a rather nasty tendency to wear out. Plus, he did actually really want to see the city, and he figured that if she was with him then he thought that there would be a higher chance that Aro or Caius would let him go into the city.

Heidi looped her arm through his and quickly pulled him out of the room, closing the door behind them surprisingly softly considering she closed it with her foot. "Alright Seth, shall we start?"

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Good. This floor is where a bunch of empty rooms are; most of the guard have their rooms located on the third floor if they want one, or the first floor. This floor is usually reserved for visiting vampires or ones who Aro has a potential interest in as a new member. We had to furnish your room specifically for you though because normally the rooms don't come with a bed since we don't sleep."

The hallway was long, wide and very open. Past the doorway to Seth's room was a long expanse of hall with no doors but huge arches which marked windows on the right, but which led out through French doors onto a wide balcony that looked out over the front gardens. Farther along the hall it faded back into doorways which led into the more of the guest rooms. In the darker areas where windows were absent, there were lighted wall sconces that splashed warm light onto the walls and the ceiling; the entire place was surprisingly inviting but at the same time had a bit of a haunted air to it.

Heidi pointed out the windows to their right, "That out there is the main courtyard. You're free to use it whenever you like, but just be really careful about the flowers; Alec is really quite protective of them."

That surprised Seth. "Alec?"

"Yes, the kid is a bit of a botanist. All of us have our interests, mine is fashion and design, and he took up gardening. He could tell you all the scientific names of each of the plants which grow on the Volturi estate, their common names, where they're from indigenously, and what conditions are best for them to grow in." For a few moments, her expression reflected pride, "I've gotten the lecture from him more then once. I don't suggest that you ask him because he'll start and then he just won't stop."

"Okay..." Seth really didn't have a huge interest in plants, so he'd probably not ask. That and Alec didn't really seem like the most talkative person he'd met.

"Now, follow me. There's not much else to see up here." Heidi pulled him towards a narrow recess in the hallway on the far side of the balcony. "This is one of the servants' stairways that was built into the villa when Aro commissioned it; most of the guard don't use them since they find it a bit degrading, but that's good for you since it's not as well-travelled which means you'll be less likely to run into one of us who isn't so friendly."

The staircase was narrow and the stairs were steep and arranged in a tight spiral. Seth made note not to take them too fast or he'd get dizzy and probably smack into the stone wall. The staircase was lit by the same wall scones as the hallway above them, which through their shadows on the wall in a weird and slightly creepy way.

They emerged out onto the first floor just to the left of the main entrance hall off in one of the two side halls which led off into the different wings of the palace. Heidi immediately pulled him further down the hallway, pointing at doors as they passed them and explaining where they led.

"That leads down to the basement and there's really nothing there of interest, just a bunch of passage ways that connect with the sewers of Volterra. It's how we get into the city without being seen by humans on a sunny day. There's also one that leads down to somewhere. I don't actually know where it leads because it's off limits to everyone but Aro, Caius, and Marcus so you can only use it if you have their express permission or if you're with them. Those doors over there," she indicated a cluster of doors at the end of the hall, "Lead into private rooms so don't go wandering into those if you value your life."

Seth pointed at the two huge oak doors which were on their left, "What about those? What do they open into?"

"Ah, that there is the library. You'd probably find Marcus in there, but he shouldn't bug you too much." She pointed to the turn in the hallway, "That's also off limits right there. That hall leads into Marcus' wing of the palace so you would get into big trouble if you were caught wandering around in there. Aro's wing is in the back and the only way you can get access to it is from either the courtyard or from Caius or Marcus' wings. If you're wondering, Caius' wing is on the other side of the palace."

The tour lasted most of the day and into the late evening since Heidi decided to show him the art room and music rooms which were off the entrance hall and then she'd proceeded to lecture him on the history of the various art pieces and instruments located inside. From there she took him up to the third floor - which earned them a dirty look from a vampire who Heidi greeted as Afton - to show him her room.

"If you ever want to find me, I'm usually in here. Felix shares this room with me but I'll tell him to play nicely if you ever drop by."

Her mate in question was inside the room and he shot her a scowl, "I'm not playing nice with wolves. They'd eat me Heidi."

"Very funny hun, but I know that Seth here wouldn't do that; you're awfully hard to digest, even for me." She grinned and winked at him.

Seth stared at the both of them as though they were crazy and edged a little towards the door.

"I think you're scaring him a bit," Felix remarked.

"Oh, I hardly believe that I could be as scary as you darling." The sweetness practically was dripping off her tone as she spoke the last part. "Besides, if I find out that you mistreated Seth at all, then you're not going to be getting any for a very long time."

Felix rolled his eyes, "I can get hookers for that."

"I know," Heidi's smile turned evil, "But I know that they can't satisfy you the way I can."

At that, Seth clapped his hands over his ears, "Okay! That's enough you two! I'd like to keep some of those mental images out of my head thanks!"

Felix chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "You've got a little virgin there, haven't you?"

Seth blushed furiously, "Th-that's none of your business!"

"Gotcha, you are." Felix continued to grin.

Heidi rolled her eyes at her mate. She placed her hands on Seth's shoulders and steered him back out of the room and into the hall, "That's enough out of you Felix, I'll see you later. Now let's go back to your room Seth and I'll fetch you dinner."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Exhausted that night, Seth flopped down onto his bed after strippinga and curled up under the covers for a good, long night's sleep.

He woke up late the next day to find his breakfast waiting for him on the table beside the door alongside a  
note from Heidi. He chose to get dressed and cleaned up before he went over and picked up the piece of paper that she'd left for him.

_Seth, I've gone into the city with Felix to catch the end of the festival. I should be back late tonight but I've asked Chelsea to bring your meals to your room. Sorry, but you're going to be on your own today; I hope that you can manage without me. Heidi._

Rolling his eyes, Seth set the note aside before digging into his breakfast. While he ate, he tried to figure out what he could do for the rest of the day because there wasn't really all that much to do around the palace. The Volturi weren't too keen on technology and had only updated a few things for the sake of convenience. He thought back over all of the places which Heidi had shown him the day before, and finally settled on spending the afternoon at the library.

Opening the door to the hall, Seth quickly glanced up and down it and took a deep breath. He couldn't see or smell any of the vampires having been there recently, so he hoped that he was in the clear for the moment. He slipped out into the hall and quickly made his way towards the servants staircase. He could have taken the main one, but he didn't want to take any chances and accidently run into one of the members of the guard. There was that and it was also because the main staircase was farther from the library then this one.

Seth quickly made his way down the stairs and then towards the library, keeping all of his senses on red alert so that he wouldn't be surprised by having one of the Volturi sneak up behind him or something. He didn't really like the idea of being accosted in a hallway and then possibly used as a test subject for whatever twisted ability the vampire had.

He stopped in front of the huge, ornately carved oak doors which led into the library. Taking a deep breath, Seth reached out and pushed one of the doors open and quickly stepped into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. It closed with a heavy yet muffled sounding thud.

The library was huge. It had a high, vaulted ceiling and overall had a very gothic feel to it, which was unlike the rest of the palace. He could see a few lead glass windows poking out from between the many bookcases which lined the walls. And in fact, it looked as though the bookcases were built around the windows and in such a way so as to compliment the shape of the room. All of them were made of a darkly stained wood, and were probably about three times as tall as Seth was, maybe taller then that. All of them were stacked with books of varying thicknesses and conditions.

On the far right, Seth could see that the bookcases were designed a little differently. Instead of holding shelves, they were made of what looked like hundreds of wine racks only there were no bottles. In each of the little holes was a scroll. It made Seth wonder just how far these records of human literature, history, everything went back.

The floor of the library was made up of the same white marble as the rest of the palace, only it looked a little worn in places and didn't have the same bright shine that the floors in the rest of the palace did. Between the shelves he could see little copper rails had been set into the floor. He realized that they were for the sliding ladders which you'd need in order to reach the shelves which were higher up then the rest of them. The ladders had the same aged but looked after feel to them as the rest of the room did.

The room itself had a bit of a musty smell to him. It reminded Seth a little of his grandma's house and that was something that he found comforting in its familiarity. Taking a deep breath, Seth quickly realized that he wasn't only smelling the musty smell of old books. There was another smell mixed in there with it.

The scent reminded Seth acutely of home. It smelled like the forests which surrounded La Push but with a spice to it that he couldn't recognize but at the same time he found incredibly appealing. He didn't find it unpleasant, or even mildly discomforting, but it calmed him and made him feel at ease and completely comfortable with his surroundings. Not even Heidi had been able to do that, and she had been nothing but kind to him, and yet this scent had been able to put him into an entirely calm state and make him curious about whose scent it was.

He quickly realized that there had to be someone else in the library because the scent was too fresh to have been even a few minutes old.

That meant that whoever possessed that scent was still in the room with him. Seth knew that he should have felt terrified, but he didn't Instead, he felt completely calm despite the fact that he knew that the owner of this scent had to be a vampire. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he'd always played things by his instincts, and they were telling him to continue on and find out who else was in there with him. An introduction couldn't hurt after all.

Following the smell deeper into the library, Seth found the vampire in question at the very back of the library where there was a small sitting area.

A deep red couch and two matching high-backed arm chairs had been arranged on a deep brown carpet that was spread out in front of a roaring fire. A coffee table had been placed at the center of the arrangement, while end tables were scattered between the chairs and on either end of the couch. A lamp sat on the one between the two chairs, and there were two more lamps on both of the end tables at the ends of the couch. Only the one between the two armchairs was turned on.

The vampire was sitting in the armchair closest to the fire, with a heavy, ancient looking book sitting open in his lap. A pale hand marked his place in the yellowed pages since he'd turned his attention to Seth the moment the young wolf had made his presence known.

Nervously, Seth swallowed and stepped away from the protection of the bookshelf. He stepped into the small sitting area and quickly looked over the vampire, trying to see if he would attack him or strike at him with cruel words or whatever power it was that he possessed.

His face - for the vampire was most definitely male - was arranged into one of subtle confusion. His bright red eyes peered out from dark lashes, and his eyes had a slight slant to him which gave him an exotic yet dark beauty. His eyebrows were black and elegant as they sloped over his eyes. Like every vampire Seth had seen before him, his skin was pale, but the circles around his eyes were a faint purple that seemed to blend into the darkness of his lashes. He had a narrow nose with slightly smooth facial features, but his face was well-proportioned and was just a little narrowed then Aro or Caius'.

Seth noticed that his hair was the same color as a raven's wing, and even had the shine of one to it in the light from the fire and the lap. It came past his chin, but looked as though someone had been at it with scissors since it was full of layers, some of which looked a bit uneven. His bangs were long and fell just past his cheek bone over his right eye. But Seth could feel his intent gaze on him.

He'd be lying if he admit that he found the vampire attractive, because he was. Very much so.

Taking a deep breath, Seth spoke up, "Hi, I'm Seth Clearwater, and you are?"

The vampire seemed to consider him for several moments, before inclining his head slightly and introducing himself, "Marcus."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

My first post of the new year. I hope that you all liked this and will tell me what you thought of the first encounter between Marcus and Seth; there will be more from them in the coming future. Finals are coming up for me, but I should be able to squeeze in the brief time to add a new chapter of this fic since I have the ones for those weeks in question already finished.

Remember, leave me a review if you are going to favorite or alert! Thank you!

Twilight.


	6. VI Forces of Attraction

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** IV. Forces of Attraction  
**Prompt:** 015. unknown ; 029. need  
**Words:** 5560 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**VI. Forces of Attraction**

_**Two months later...**_

The library was huge.

Seth had never seen so many books, bookshelves, before in his life. Though, he wasn't well-travelled by any definition of it; the farthest that he'd been from Forks and La Push before had been Seattle. And yes, he did realize that that was pretty damn sad for someone his age; but he'd been a bit tied up with being a wolf and a defender of La Push and all that.

He'd never felt the need to travel far before anyway. His family and his entire world were in that small town wrapped up in the dreary but homey forests of Washington, and he'd never have traded any of that for anything.

Thinking of home only brought up the still raw wounds of having to leave his entire family behind. He still missed them even though he'd sworn that he'd avoid thinking about them; that he'd move on and try to piece his life back together. He'd been doing pretty well, or at least, he thought he had.

Only Heidi had bothered to even try and befriend him. She'd cut straight through his depression and immediately started treating him like he was a _**person**_, and not a 'bag of blood' as Felix had so nicely dubbed him. That big, brawny vampire wasn't particularly friendly towards Seth, but he wasn't downright cruel, either. He was apathetic towards Seth, which made the young man's life considerably easier.

Later he realized it was because Heidi had laid into him about at least making an _**effort**_ to being nice to him. As it turned out, the two of them were mates; which wasn't too surprising, or at least, Seth didn't think so. From what he knew of vampires, apparently all the drop-dead beauties went for the brawny ones. Go figure.

When it came down to the others, Alec was always on the fringe of things. He didn't make an effort to get to know Seth, but he didn't make his life a living hell either, which was good, because Seth had his hands full dealing with his crazed, homicidal sister. But if it wasn't for Alec almost always avoiding him, then Seth would've said that he was almost friendly. Well, Alec wouldn't avoid him if it would appear like he was being rude, but when they were on opposite sides of a room with others in it, or if they passed each other in a hallway, Alec would leave or move on as quickly as possible.

Jane was the one who made Seth's life a living hell.

It hadn't taken Seth long to figure that the best way to avoid a torture session was to just avoid Jane, period. Unfortunately, that was easier said then done because his scent was rather distinctive in a palace full of vampires. She could track him easily from one side of the palace to the other, and find him where she'd commence with her 'fun'.

Seth was hoping that once he'd been there for long enough, that Jane would give up on him or leave him alone. He doubted that, since she took such pleasure in hearing him scream, but when his scent (which was rapidly changing) blended in better with the vampires, and he'd been living there for a while, than his scent would have soaked into the building, making it harder to track him down.

The apparent cause of Jane's single-minded determination to torture Seth but not drive him completely insane was Aro.

Aro was, technically, the leader of the Volturi. Or at least, Seth was pretty sure that he considered himself their leader. After all, Aro had pretty much created all of the major members of the coven, excluding Marcus and Caius; those two had found him.

But Aro was, in Seth's opinion, about ten times scarier then Jane. He seemed to take an almost morbid pleasure in seeing the young wolf suffer; seeing how far he could be pushed without snapping him.

Then again, Aro had taken far too much pleasure when they'd been outfitting Seth's rather complicated and technologically advanced tracking device. He'd _**enjoyed**_ seeing just how much of an electrical shock they could deal Seth that would incapacitate him but not kill him. That had been Seth's 'welcoming present' when he'd first arrived in Volterra.

The device itself was similar to the ones that Seth had seen on TV which were used to monitor sex offenders, or other criminals who had been released on parole into the community. Only his was a lot more streamlined, and not as bulky. More or less, it was a simple leather strap wrapped around his ankle with a GPS transmitter built in, along with an electrical current. He didn't really understand the mechanics of it, but he knew that it was probably more advanced then anything that any government in the world had access too.

Unluckily for him, the electric shock that he'd receive if he ever tried to leave Volterra's limits would be enough to kill a normal human. But then again, he was lucky that it wouldn't actually kill him. That was one advantage to being a shifter, but it also meant that the shock he received was incredibly painful and was more then enough to knock him out cold, or maybe even kill him if he was in a weakened state.

The last two members of the Volturi coven were the most outwardly cruel and the most enigmatic.

Caius was cruel and manipulative, and didn't bother hiding it behind a façade of civility and kindness that Aro did. If there was something that he wanted, then he went after it, and he usually got it. But he also had a deep hatred of Seth, even though he wasn't a true 'Child of the Moon' as Caius referred to true werewolves as. The fact still remained that Seth could change into a wolf at will, and he harboured a deep loathing for werewolves after nearly being killed by one many centuries earlier.

With that, Caius made no illusions about being nice to Seth. In fact, he made it very obvious that he would like nothing else but to see Seth dead, preferably drained of blood, or one of them altogether. Apparently, he thought seeing if Seth could be turned would be a fascinating experiment to carry out sometime in the future.

Seth shuddered at the thought. He didn't relish the idea of more pain in the future.

And lastly, there was Marcus.

Marcus was the one that Seth just couldn't figure out. He was mysterious, spoke very little, and preferred quiet to lots of conversation. From what Seth could tell, he kept to himself mostly; not even associating very much with the rest of the Volturi coven. Not even Alec was as reclusive as Marcus.

Though, Seth wasn't scared of him, at all. Not even when he'd first met him, Seth hadn't felt that thrill of fear shoot through him as it had when he'd been introduced to every other vampire who made up the coven; including Heidi. Instead, he felt… well, he couldn't actually really put a name to how he'd felt when he'd first met Marcus.

There was, to put it simply, something about Marcus that drew Seth to him almost unconsciously. Normally Seth wouldn't seek out the quiet and not very social types – like Marcus – since he preferred people who were a bit more social and had a really good sense of humour.

When he looked at Marcus' face, he felt that the vampire wouldn't know what a good joke was even if it bit him in the ass. And bit him _**hard**_.

But Seth had been finding that he didn't mind the quiet so much when it was Marcus who he was with. It surprised him just a little, but he found the quiet and peaceful presence comforting. He still missed home and everything that went with that, and he was willing to latch onto any small comfort that he could, even if he didn't understand why he found it to be so.

He was thinking that maybe he'd understand it one day, or that it was maybe that special 'gift' of Marcus': to make people feel comfortable around him. Whatever the case was, Seth was fine with how things were at that moment; even if he was a little unnerved by his own feelings and the effects which he sometimes felt when around the ancient vampire.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"Do you want to go out and see Volterra tonight?" Heidi asked, pulling out her best puppy eyes; not like they were necessary.

Seth rolled his eyes at her, but grinned good-naturedly, "Yeah, sure. I haven't been outside this place since I got here. It sounds like fun."

"Alright!" She pumped her fist into the air, a huge smile on her face which only accentuated both her own natural beauty and the enhanced nature of her looks because she was a vampire. While she didn't look angelic, like Alec or Jane, she was like Rosalie; you never forgot a face like hers, and just being in the room with her was enough to feel inadequate.

Despite the fact that Heidi's appearance could take any man – or woman's – breath away had absolutely no effect on Seth. It was one reason why she loved the young man so much; it was nice to get a break from being stared at like one was a piece of meat. Or eye-candy. Seth was good enough to treat her like an actual person, someone touchable and attainable, instead of the unapproachable, inhuman beauty that almost everyone else saw her as; even her own mate.

"I'll need to get permission first, though." Seth frowned at that. He wasn't looking too forward to having to approach either Caius or Aro on the subject, since he highly doubted that either of them would let him leave. Caius would say no because he _**hated**_ Seth for no other reason then the fact that he was a shifter who took the form of a wolf. On the other hand, Aro wouldn't let him go because Seth was the newest addition to his 'collection', which made him very valuable to the older vampire; for the time being, at least.

Which left Marcus.

"Damn, I forgot about that." Heidi frowned and crossed her arms. Even though she was a member of the Volturi, and a prized one at that, she wasn't too comfortable around any of its leaders. Aro creeped her out, Caius was just plain _**evil**_, and Marcus… well Marcus was a zombie, so it was kind of hard to get to know him at all.

"I'll handle it Heidi, don't worry about it." Seth gave her a reassuring smile and a one-armed hug. "You'll get to drag me around the city, I'm sure that I can convince someone to give me permission to leave. Being stuck inside this place wouldn't do me any good, I'll go stir-crazy eventually."

"That's true; they'll have to let you out sometime, but I want you to come out with me _**tonight**_. I'm leaving tomorrow and I'm not going to be back for a few days; Aro's sending me out on a fishing trip."

Seth was all too familiar with the implications of what Heidi had said. He knew that she was the one who was sent out to bring in fresh prey for the vampires who called this small town home. It had been one of the bigger adjustments that he'd had to make since the only other vampires who he had ever known had been 'vegetarian' by their races standards. The crimson eyes were a little creepy at times, but Seth had gotten used to them, even though they still scared him just a little. They were a constant remainder to him that any of the Volturi could choose to kill him and drain him if they ever felt the urge; or got hungry enough.

Heidi chewed her lip nervously, realizing that she'd probably just made Seth a little uncomfortable with what she'd just said, "Oops, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, but I felt that you needed to know that I wouldn't be here for a few days."

"It's not the first time that you've disappeared; I've gotten used to it by now." He shrugged it off. Heidi had been too nice to him, and he didn't believe that she deserved his hatred just because of a lifestyle choice. But then again, she didn't actually have much choice in who or what she fed on because it was a law (or something) that all members of the Volturi had to feed on humans. Aro didn't see the reason for one abstaining from their 'natural food source'.

"If you say so, but I'll try not to mention it again. I know that it makes you uncomfortable."

"I know that I am, but it's not exactly something that you can't change so I won't be mad at you or judge you for that."

She smiled at him, "You're not a very judgemental person, are you Seth?"

There was a short flash of pain that went straight to his heart and stabbed at it viciously. He looked down at his feet.

"_He's got the purest, kindest mind I've ever seen, you're really lucky to have a connection to his mind."_

"_I know."_

"Yeah… I know; you're not the first person to comment on that."

Seeming to know that she'd hurt Seth, Heidi smiled at him comfortingly and pulled him into her rock-hard embrace. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Seth, I didn't mean to."

He returned the embrace, shoving back the pain behind the doors which he'd erected inside of himself, "It's alright, I'll get used to it at some point. Sometimes being reminded of… everyone is just too much."

"You'll always feel pain and sadness over it, and that's alright," Heidi pulled away, but took his hands in hers and gave them a comforting squeeze. "Just try to remember all of the good times, and they're not really gone. Who knows? You might be able to go back some day."

_I doubt it._ "Thanks Heidi."

"Hey, what are friends for?" She laughed. "Well, I'll see you later then. Meet me at the front gates at night fall if you can come, alright?"

"Sure thing."

She smiled at him once more warmly before she disappeared down a side hallway, waving at him and calling out a farewell as she did so.

Unable to help it, and feeling better then he had earlier Seth grinned back at her and returned the wave, watching her vanish out of sight around a corner. He felt that, even if things didn't work out and he never got to see his home again, that at least he had Heidi there to keep him cheerful and looking at the bright side of life; he'd always been an optimist anyway.

Now that he had a mission to accomplish, Seth set about making his way through the huge palace to look for Marcus and avoid Jane at the same time. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out that he was planning on leaving for a short while, even if it was with Heidi which was perfectly within the boundaries of the rules he lived with.

The angelic little vampire wasn't at all dissuaded from her usual routine of torturing Seth until he passed out in front of her, and he knew that it pained Heidi too. He hadn't found anyone, yet, who could stop her outright from doing that to him since Aro refused to actually give the order that he knew she'd obey.

Backtracking through the halls, Seth went back to his room to grab a hoodie since the halls and most of the others rooms were getting a bit chilly with the late evening, fall air. It wasn't too cold yet, but the chill still soaked in despite his higher then human body temperature.

Once he'd pulled it on and zipped it up, Seth set out on a journey to find the last member of the Volturi leadership trio.

He'd memorized Marcus' scent already – a pleasant smell that reminded him of the forests back home, but at the same time spoke of unfamiliar ones – and it also happened to be distinctive, which made it easy enough for him to follow or find. In a lot of places, it was faded which told him that Marcus hadn't been there in a while.

Not frustrated at all by his lack of success after a few minutes of searching several of the halls, and narrowly avoiding a run-in with Jane, Seth wondered down the familiar corridor which led to the library. Now he could smell Marcus' scent, and it was much stronger then it had been in the rest of the palace, which told him that he was on the right path.

Well, that was kind of predictable; Seth normally did find Marcus in the library.

Opening one of the large, double oak doors, Seth peeked in and took a cautious look around and didn't see anyone. The only people that he could smell were Marcus, and his own stale scent from the day before.

That was a good thing; Marcus had a tendency to withdraw when he was around other people and not talk very much. Which was sort of weird, because he didn't do a lot of talking in the first place; not that Seth minded all that much.

Stepping inside and letting the door fall closed behind him with a muffled thud, Seth took a deep breath before venturing through the huge shelves and winding his way through stacks of books and scrolls. The entire place was well-kept, if not a little chaotic, and it had a pleasant smell to it too. Books had always possessed a comforting smell for Seth, even before he'd gained the advanced sense which came with the transformation.

Tucked away in a back corner of the huge room was a small sitting area that Seth had become very familiar with over the past weeks. Several very cushy armchairs and a couch were arranged in front of a fireplace with a coffee table in the center, and an end table placed between two of the arm chairs.

Marcus was sitting in the arm chair closest to the fire, an old book propped open in his lap while he stared into the fire. He didn't seem to notice Seth, or if he did, then he made no motion to greet him; but that was pretty much normal.

In the light from the fire, Marcus looked almost human, but still with that almost alien beauty to him that all vampires seemed to possess. The firelight cast warm shadows of red and orange across his face, accenting the angular lines of his face and his high cheekbones, and also making his dark brown hair look almost black, but at the same time aflame.

All in all, it was a little breath-taking, and it took a few moments for Seth to realize that his mouth was wide open and he was staring at Marcus like an idea. He snapped his mouth closed with an audible click, and then very pointedly looked at his shoes for several moments as he fought back an insane blush.

So sure, he found Marcus attractive – which wasn't completely unusual, vampires were drop-dead gorgeous – but that didn't mean anything… did it?

"Hey Marcus," Seth greeted, the corner of his mouth quirking up just a little. There were some things that he just couldn't help when he was around the ancient vampire, and something about him just made him smile. Not a face-splitting one, but the small kind. Seth got the feeling that Marcus needed a lot of them; the guy was too down most of the times that he saw him.

There wasn't an answering verbal confirmation that Marcus knew he was there, but the vampire did set aside the book he'd been reading and crossed his hands in his lap.

Despite the fact that Marcus looked like he hadn't even realized Seth was in the room with him, much less spoken to him, the young wolf knew that he had the vampire's undivided attention. It didn't matter that he wasn't looking at him or that his posture was turned slightly away from him; Seth just knew that he was listening.

"Heidi wanted to take me out and show me around Volterra tonight. Would it be okay if I went with her?"

For several long moments, there was nothing but silence, and Seth was starting to get nervous that his request would be turned down – even though almost every part of him was screaming out that Marcus would say yes – as the seconds dragged on into minutes. He didn't think it should take that long to make such a simple choice, but then again, vampire's seemed to have a different sense of time then anyone else.

That probably had something to do with the whole living-for-eternity thing that they had going; Seth was starting to develop theories on why vampire's behaved as they did. He was that by the time he'd spent years, and maybe decades, in Volterra that he'd be able to compile volumes on the subject and probably never get any closer to any of the answers.

"As long as you return before dawn, then there is no problem."

Seth's head snapped up immediately, and this time he couldn't help the huge, face-splitting smile that spread across his face when he got his answer. He couldn't help it; he was just so damn happy to _**finally**_ be able to go out and enjoy a little bit of freedom.

Before he could think through his actions, Seth leaped forward and threw his arms around Marcus' neck in what would have been a suffocating grip if the vampire had been human with a loud, "Thank you so much!"

The vampire completely froze up, but Seth didn't notice. He pulled back quickly enough, still grinning, and then started jogging back to the exit of the library; waving back and calling out a farewell over his shoulder as he did.

"See you later Marcus! Promise I'll be back before then!"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The draw which Seth felt towards Marcus wasn't completely natural, that was the one thing that he was sure of. But at the same time, he didn't think that it was necessarily bad either, because at least Marcus was interesting. And when he used the word 'interesting' he meant that Marcus didn't want to tear his head off or otherwise torture him to the point where he nearly lost it, or did.

And since Seth had always known Marcus to be, well not quite friendly, quiet but a nice enough person (for a vampire); he didn't know that the way that the vampire acted around him wasn't how he normally acted.

"You got permission?" Heidi was the only one out of the entire Volturi coven who'd made any attempt at all to befriend him. While everyone else complained about how he smelled, even though his scent was getting better each day, she'd pretty much ignored it from the start in favour of bugging Seth into becoming her shopping buddy and personal Barbie doll. He'd quickly figured out that it was just her way of expressing affection; she hadn't had too much experience with the emotions.

Well, she treated him more like a Ken doll, but that wasn't the point.

"Yeah, I did. I can't leave the city limits though," Seth replied.

"As great of news as this is, I've got to know. Who gave you permission? Caius hates your guts; and he's a pretty big, scary jerk anyway. Which kind of leaves Aro and I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't ever let his shiny new toy out of his sight."

"Marcus said it was alright, as long as I came back before dawn."

"Whoa! Hang on here!" Heidi threw her hands into the air, staring at Seth with a look of complete shock on her face. "The zombie himself – the apathetic Marcus – gave you permission to leave and come with me to Volterra?"

"Yeah... but why is that so shocking to you?" Seth stopped, doing up his jacket to ward off the late evening chill. "And he's not a zombie; he doesn't try to eat my brains whenever I'm around him."

She grinned, "Oh hun, whatever did you do that you got _**Marcus**_ of all people to actually talk to you? I'll tell you this: you're one special guy."

"Uh huh, I'm one special guy who's definitely got no interest in standing here all night." He rolled his eyes at her. "Are we gonna go or not?"

"Right!" Heidi beamed at him, looping her arm through his as she led him out of the entrance hall of the huge Volturi palace and out into the cool air of an Italian evening. But there was still that shadow of wonder lurking in the back of her mind about Seth; because Marcus didn't talk, and he didn't give permission. The guy was like a statue; there had been no exaggeration on her part when she'd called him a zombie.

"So what do you have planned? Other than shopping." It was the first time in the two months that Seth had been with the Volturi that he was actually allowed to go into the city from which their coven drew its name. He was excited about it, even if he did still miss… well, there was no use lingering on that; he'd promised himself that he'd try to make the best of the situation. He'd finished his mourning already, and while he'd never be able to go back, that didn't give him the right to be a miserable ass for the rest of his life. Leah and his mom would expect him to be strong, to make the best of it, just like he always did.

"Well, I was thinking that first we'd grab a light dinner, just a little something for you since I don't eat. Than I'd like to do a little browsing of a few of the little boutiques – I need to get your measurements by the way – and then I was thinking that maybe I could show you a few of the sights."

"Okay, that sounds fine," Seth replied with a nod. "We can do that all before morning?"

"We might have to cut out the sightseeing, but everything else we should be able to fit into tonight." Heidi dragged him through the streets, eyes peeled for any suspicious activity like she'd been taught over the centuries which she'd been a member of the Volturi. It was second nature to her now. "But giving me your measurements is a must, because then I can do some online shopping and make some orders and inquiries for you."

"What were you in your former life: a designer or a stylist?"

"Very funny Seth; and for the record, I'm not sure really what I did in my former life. It's entirely possible that I didn't have a career, that I had a family." Heidi shrugged it off, despite the morbid topic. "I don't really remember it, so I've decided not to care. I've got a second chance, so I'm going to use it as best I can."

That made Seth smile. In some ways, Heidi reminded him a bit of Leah, just in her stubborn and determined nature; she was a lot like his sister, just a little softer around the edges, and with a sense of humour. It was a comfort to him, that she'd sort of adopted him as her own little brother, made him feel more at home.

"Lead on, oh great leader, we've got stuff to do, don't we?" Seth joked with a grin.

"Right! Let's go!" She grabbed his wrist in her iron-clad grasp, and began pulling him along behind her as she led the way along the winding path and into the city through a back entrance.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

With the window thrown wide open, someone had been watching the vampire lead the shifter off into Volterra. The figure had heard their entire conversation, and he would have to admit he was… _**intrigued**_ by the new arrival. As usual, Aro had brought back someone who was definitely of interest.

The shifter was… well, Marcus wasn't too sure that he could come with the words that would accurately describe him. In fact, he was having problems defining what he thought the shifter was like. After all, he knew that he acted much differently around the others of his coven, but the way that he'd just seen him interact with Heidi…

It made him wonder which sides to him were real, and which ones were not.

Thinking on that, Marcus wondered if, perhaps, the shifter was some kind of enchanter or some sort of spirit. He quickly dispelled that idea; after all, he knew that those sorts of things were just outdated superstitions. He'd thought that he'd left behind those archaic beliefs years ago. The world was a cold and hard and cruel place, there was no room for fairy tales in it; no room for happy endings.

But the warmth from Seth's arms still lingered around his neck, and Marcus couldn't shrug off that lingering feeling of belonging when the shifter had embraced him. In fact, that brief moment of physical contact had brought out this deep, hungry yearning in Marcus for more of it. For some reason, his entire unconscious being seemed to cry out to him to hold the shifter close again and never let him go.

He wouldn't have given the shifter permission if it wasn't for the simple fact that he brought out a side of him that hadn't seen the light for centuries. In fact, Marcus had never been as open as he usually was with Seth since _**she**_ had passed on. That was something that he didn't understand; how could he be happy again without her? After all, she'd been the first – and he'd assumed only – one who'd understood him and made him love.

Marcus didn't love, not after her. He didn't believe in second chances, or any of those other hocus-pocus superstitious things which people constructed in order to deal with the pain of losing a loved one. They were dead and gone, and Marcus had long since learned to live with that.

Of course, it could also have been that he was scared to fall in love again, because it had hurt him so much the first time he had.

He'd spent centuries turning himself into an apathetic person to ward people away, building up the walls around his heart so that they were high and thick and impenetrable. Marcus had believed that he'd be safe from any future heartache because no one would be able to get in to make him care enough about them for him to hurt if they died or left.

But then along came Seth Clearwater and suddenly all off his carefully constructed defences had been smashed and the shifter had made himself at home inside of Marcus' long-dead heart. And it didn't look like he'd be leaving any time soon.

Marcus couldn't figure out a way to push the young man away without hurting him, and oddly enough, he found himself unwilling to do so. What he felt for the shifter was confusing, and almost too familiar; it scared him, other emotions he could understand and deal with accordingly, but what he was actually feeling was terrifying.

Lust he could understand, after all, he'd been suppressing that part of his nature for centuries, even before he'd met her. That aspect – the sexual – had never entered their relationship, and Marcus had felt no desire to pursue anyone else to fulfill that need of his when he'd been with her. If it was just lust that he felt for Seth, then he could understand that, he could understand and learn to live with that.

But that wasn't the case. What he felt was confusing, complex, and intricate. It had wound itself into his being and taken a firm hold of what little remaining essence there had been of himself after her loss, only to begin building it back up again around Seth. Marcus was terrified that he was unconsciously and consciously regaining his former spark of life and heart and that the reconstruction was so dependent on one person. And a fragile human at that.

In closing, he thought, he couldn't lose Seth, and he couldn't let anyone else have him either. That darker part of him wouldn't allow it, and also the more human part of him which was slowly being resurrected refused to permit anyone hurting the young man at all. If Seth was happy and well, then Marcus could more closely examine his own feelings and come up with a plan, or an idea, of what he should do.

With that decided on, Marcus turned away from the window and retreated back to his armchair by the fire, determined more then ever to figure out the complexity of his relationship with one Seth Clearwater.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Chem is evil, and here is your chapter. Diplomas start next week, so my time that I'll be able to dedicate to my fics will be a bit restricted since I have to study like a man woman in order to get the marks that I want on them. Although, I'm not too worried about Social; it's Chem that I'm worried about.

As always, comment if you liked. Thank you.

Twilight.


	7. VII Cityscapes

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** VII. Cityscapes  
**Prompt:** oo4. hate  
**Words:** 5439 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**VII. Cityscapes**

Volterra was a beautiful city. It was like something out of those picturesque romance novels that you could pick up from the drugstore counter back in Forks. The place had an ancient charm and draw to it that couldn't be denied. But it was also, Seth was discovering, a city that was really easy to get lost in if you didn't know your way around, or if you didn't have someone who did.

Seth enjoyed the cool evening air and the feeling of being, while not completely, free for the first time in months. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a deep breath as he did so along with letting a huge dopey grin spread across his face.

It was the first one that Heidi had seen, and she thought it was beautiful.

Of course, Heidi had already found her mate and loved him more then anything, so she held no interest for Seth in that way. But she could still appreciate that, while it definitely wasn't the traditional definition of the word, Seth _**was**_ beautiful. It wasn't just how he looked either, there was something else about him that just brought out the best of him and those around him; she couldn't really explain it in words.

"I still can't get over the fact that you got Marcus of all people to let you come." Heidi was still surprised about that, and she wasn't prepared to let the subject drop any time soon; not until she had an answer that was satisfactory.

Seth shrugged with a bit of a smile, "He's pretty much always in the library when I go there, he doesn't kick me out or anything and he doesn't complain about the smell either – I don't still 'stink', do I?"

"You don't, but now you're just avoiding talking about this and that I won't allow. I want to know everything!"

_Women._ Seth rolled his eyes.

"What do you want to know?"

"Marcus gave you permission."

"Yeah… I still don't get why that's so surprising to you. I mean, yeah he doesn't talk that much, but that doesn't mean that he's a mute."

Heidi smiled, _Oh Seth dear, you wouldn't know._ "Marcus doesn't talk, though. That's why I'm surprised that he's been talking to you. I've known him for over two centuries, Seth, and I've never once heard him say a single word."

That seemed to come as a surprise to Seth, "Really? He wasn't too talkative at first, but once I'd introduced myself, he was a lot friendlier to me. Next to you, he's probably the nicest person that I've met so far."

"What do you two normally talk about?"

"Not a lot," Seth frowned, clearly thinking hard. "Sometimes he recommends that I read something, sometimes he asks me about home and what it's like there, what my friends and family were like."

"You don't talk about those sorts of things with me."

"It's not something that I really want to talk about right now," Seth replied, looking up from his feet. "It's just… I don't know, something about him makes me feel comfortable and it doesn't hurt so much when I talk about those kinds of things around him. Besides, the way he asks them… it seems like they're personal to him too."

"You feel comfortable around him?" Heidi's brow furrowed. That was news to her, humans _**never**_ felt comfortable around her kind; they shied away from them because of the alien nature of vampires.

"I've never felt uncomfortable around vampires, actually," Seth replied. They were passing through an empty dark alley at that moment, so there was no one around to hear their conversation, and they were carrying it on in quiet voices anyway. "But I feel really comfortable around him; almost like he's always been there, but I've just never noticed."

"Huh…" That was Heidi's only response. She had no explanation for why Seth would feel that way, but what he'd told her first was surprising. "You've always been comfortable around our kind?"

As always, that distant and broken tone entered Seth's voice as he talked about his past, "Yeah that was something that always set me apart from the others. Vampires and shifters are supposed to be mortal enemies, yet I'm able to befriend them with ease. Then again, I'm pretty sure that imprinting on them wasn't supposed to be possible either."

That was some new information. Heidi immediately jumped on it, "Imprinting?"

By that time they'd emerged onto one of the main streets. Even though it was late in the evening, there were still quite a few people out and about. Seth shook his head at Heidi, "I'll tell you about it later."

"Alright." Heidi let her serious face fall and then immediately brightened up with a huge grin on her face as she looped her arm through Seth's and began pulling him along behind her. "Let's get you something to eat! I've got the perfect place in mind!"

The attention that the two of them were gaining was a little unnerving to Seth; he wasn't used to being in the spotlight. At first he thought it was just because of Heidi – after all, she was inhumanly beautiful – but then he started catching wind of the whispers following after them, and they made him blush with a strange combination of embarrassment and a little bit of pride.

"She's a stunner, but the boy isn't too hard on the eyes either."

"I wouldn't go for her, she's _**too**_ pretty, but the guy with her I'd gladly take home anytime."

"Think they're together? Cause I'd go for either of them."

Heidi caught onto Seth's embarrassment and smiled at him, slowing down her almost maniac pace through the streets, "Don't mind them; humans are always distracted and fascinated by beauty."

"I'm not beautiful," Seth mumbled, which only added to his embarrassment.

"Hmph, well _**I**_ think you are." Heidi nodded her head in resolution. "In fact, I'd say that you're one of the most attractive people I've ever met; both physically and mentally." She grinned, "You'd make a good match for pretty much anyone and they'd be the luckiest person on Earth to have you."

The compliment didn't help Seth's embarrassment and only served to make it worse. He very pointedly stared at his feet, refusing to meet Heidi's eyes or anyone else's, and mumbled out a very muted, "Thanks."

"I know you don't like compliments, but it's good to get them. It really gives you a boost, you know?" Heidi led him down another small side street, this one less busy then the one that they'd just been on. She scanned the street briefly, before smiling and standing up straight and releasing Seth's arm as they started down it.

The place that Heidi had picked out from dinner was a quaint, little café tucked off the main square. There were a few people occupying the tables arranged on the patio, but it wasn't busy and no one paid them too much attention.

"Ciao, posso ottenere un tavolo per due?" Heidi greeted the server. Seth understood none of the Italian that she'd just used, but he guessed that she was asking for a table since within a few moments they were led to a small table in the far rear of the café, closer to the restaurant then the street front.

The waiter smiled at them as they took their seats, and handed them their menus with the usual big smile, "C'è qualcosa che posso ricevere per voi due?"

Returning the smile, Heidi shook her head, "Non adesso."

The waiter, a young man who was probably in his late teens or early twenties, nodded, "Dimmi quando sei pronto a ordinare allora." He left them to their menus.

"Maybe I should learn some Italian if I'm going to be stuck here for a while," Seth commented offhand, looking over the menu and grimaced; he didn't know what any of the items were. "I think you're going to have to order for me; I have no idea of what anything is."

That made Heidi frown, "Right, I forgot that you don't know any Italian… I'll have to keep that in mind. But yes, you should definitely learn some if you're going to spending time outside the palace with me."

Seth nodded, "I'll make a note to do that when we get back. There should be a book or two in the library on Italian that I can learn some of the basics from."

"Why not ask Marcus?" Heidi interjected; having already decided on what she'd order for the two of them. Well, it was more like order for Seth. She was only ordering something as cover; she could scrape it off her plate discreetly and give it to him instead. "It might be something that you two could bond over."

"Do you think he'd go for it?" Seth asked, suddenly feeling anxiety curling in the pit of his stomach.

With a shrug, Heidi continued, "I don't know. You probably know him better then I do even though I've known him longer. But yes, I think that he'd be open to teaching you some Italian."

"That's good. I really didn't want to have to ask anyone else…" he trailed off, looking down at the table. It was clear that he was thinking of Jane and Caius, especially.

Reaching out, Heidi placed her hand over Seth's and gave it a small squeeze, "He likes you, that much I know. You're probably the first person that he's talked, verbally, to in centuries. This is a real landmark for the both of you."

That came as a surprise to Seth, "What do you mean?"

At this, Heidi hesitated, not sure how to continue without making the situation any worse then it already was. She worried her lower lip a little with her exceptionally sharp teeth before finally answering, "It's a little hard to explain since I don't know all the specifics myself. But from what I do know, Marcus has been completely apathetic and untouchable for nearly five hundred years. So, for him to be so… open with you it's a really big deal."

Seth shrugged that off, "It's not really that big of a deal… is it?"

"Tread carefully," Heidi murmured softly, suddenly looking very forlorn. "Aro won't be too pleased if you start driving a wedge between Marcus and his loyalty to our coven. If he has to choose between you and Marcus; then you'll be dead."

"Why would – Heidi, you're not telling me something." Seth glared at her sharply, trying to figure out what it was that she was thinking – what she was keeping from him.

Heidi let out a heavy sigh, "I'm not going to say anything on what I _**think**_ might be going on between you and Marcus; not until I have something concrete at least. Just please be careful, okay? Aro's ruthless when it comes to power and getting what he wants; you wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"I know that," Seth stated with a 'hmph', crossing his arms in a bit of a huff. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to stay on his good side. It's not just my own safety which is riding on my staying here as another part of his collection…"

_Everyone back in Forks and La Push is counting on me too. I have to stay alive for them._

At that moment, the waiter returned, still with his huge smile still in place for them. This time, though, Seth noticed how his gaze lingered for a little too long on Heidi before it shifted to him for a few moments, "Sei pronto a ordinare?"

"Sì."

Heidi carefully placed their orders with the waiter, also taking the time to order them some drinks before dismissing the waiter politely despite how he was plainly ogling her.

"Do you ever get used to that?" Seth asked, a little uncomfortable with the attention. He quickly clarified, "People staring at you, I mean."

She shrugged, leaning back in her chair, "After a while, you do; but you're always going to be aware of peoples' eyes being on you. When you're a vampire, people stare all the time but they won't approach you unless they absolutely have to."

Now that was something that Seth had been curious about for the longest time, "Why is that? I mean, I've noticed that people don't seem too comfortable around your kind, but I've never had a problem with being around vampires." _I know a few people who don't, actually... but they were a bit apprehensive at first._

"That's a bit of a complicated answer," Heidi began. "And I'm not sure that I'm the best person to explain it to you."

He gave her a reassuring smile, "Just try your best. I'm curious to know."

Silence hung for a few more seconds before Heidi had managed to gather her thoughts enough to speak, "Well, like I said, it's a bit complicated because no one actually really understands why humans tend to shy away from us.

"It probably has something to do with how alien we appear to be. There's just something about us that tells them to stay away because we're not human, because we're dangerous. Of course, when… when those of us who prey on them hunt them… we use our natural charm and our enhanced beauty to get close to them."

Seth shuddered at the mention of hunting humans; he was only glad that he was safe inside Volterra. As long as he remained with the Volturi, then he'd be safe from any other vampires who might decide that he'd make a good meal. And whatever it had been that Heidi had implied earlier… _I'm not going to say anything on what I __**think**__ might be going on between you and Marcus._ What had she meant by that? There wasn't really anything going on between them.

Was there?

There might have been a draw there, and Seth did feel comfortable with the ancient vampire – more comfortable then he felt with Heidi – but that didn't mean anything concrete. Even if he was attracted to Marcus just a tiny bit, that didn't mean anything because Seth was pretty damn sure that he'd never be able to get anywhere with the vampire.

Marcus might have let him put a little crack in his armour, but that didn't mean that he'd let him all the way in. And like Heidi had said, Marcus just seemed untouchable.

But then, Seth had touched him. He'd hugged him.

It had been a spur of the moment thing, but he'd done it, and Marcus had seemed surprised by it; but he didn't push him away nor treat him any differently after the fact. And now that he thought about it, Seth couldn't deny the warmth which surged upwards in his chest at the memory of it.

He hadn't even minded the cold.

But none of that meant that he could possibly be _**in love**_ with Marcus.

"So, what's on your mind Seth? Thinking about Marcus?" Heidi pointed her fork at Seth, which was now loaded with noodles. Their food had arrived while Seth had been lost in thought, and she'd started to become worried when he hadn't responded. Normally, Seth would dig in right away.

That made Seth splutter and blush, "How did you know?!"

She smirked, "I didn't. It was a guess, and your reaction just proved me right."

The blush deepened until it was the same color as a tomato and Seth fiddled with his napkin in his lap. He had no idea what to say, "I… you…"

"Don't worry about it Seth; I'm sure that Marcus has given you a lot to think about." She paused, then added, "And I'm sure what I've said hasn't helped much either."

That made him smile just a little, and the blush faded, "Yeah, you're not much help when it comes to these things. I bet you're lousy at giving advice too."

"When you're perfect, you don't need advice." Heidi imitated the haughty look of a supermodel, which – unsurprisingly – looked completely natural on her face. She flipped her hair around a little to finish the look.

"Uh huh. You know, I hate to break it to you, Heidi, but you're the farthest thing from perfect there is; I think you've still got a little work to do before you get there."

Heidi feigned a hurt look, "Ouch Seth! That really hurt!"

He rolled his eyes at her dramatics, "Just hurry up and eat so we can go do the shopping you wanted to get done. And I know that that didn't really hurt you."

"Aw, you're such a sensitive person Seth! And by the way, you know that eating is out of the question for me."

"Just shut up."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Dinner didn't take them very long to finish, and Heidi paid for it once they were done. She gave the waiter one more brilliantly bright smile before she looped her arm through Seth's and began to pull him down the street away from the café, and towards another little street.

This street, though, was lined with several boutiques, a number of which were on the very high price tag end of shopping. Any of the items in those shops would be enough to give even the most seasoned shopper a huge bout of sticker shock. But Seth was determined not to look at the stickers and not even _**ask**_ about how much some of the stuff that Heidi would shove into his arms cost.

He'd learned quickly that Heidi didn't really care about how much something cost, as she did about how it _**looked**_. Seth didn't believe that she actually needed his measurements like she claimed she did, because he was pretty sure that she already knew just what size he was for just about everything.

"Let's try in here first," Heidi tugged him towards one shop. The mannequins in the front window were decked out in outfits that looked like they could've come straight off a magazine cover. "I want you to at least have some good clothes to wear while I'm gone. The stuff that I have given you just won't cut it."

"You don't need to spend a small fortune on me; I'm never going to be able to pull off looking like a model like the rest of you."

Heidi gave him a blinding smile as they stepped up the small flight of stairs which led into the store, "Oh, you're selling yourself short there, Seth. And besides, as a vampire, you're expected to be inhumanly beautiful or 'like a model', as you put it trying to 'one up' a vampire is pretty much impossible."

The door opened with the tinkling of chimes, alerting the employees to their entrance. However, no one came over to greet them or talk to them about the latest sale or anything, in fact, apart from the greeting from a perky looking young man – who was dressed extremely well – they were left to do their shopping by themselves.

"But you seem intent on making sure that I can compete with them," Seth muttered.

Heidi laughed at that, "Maybe." _More like I'm trying to help you catch a certain vampire's attention._ "Or maybe I'm thinking of something else altogether and you're grasping at straws."

At that, Heidi broke away from Seth and drifted over to one of the many racks of clothing arrayed about the store.

Unlike all of the big box or department stores that Seth had been to, this one was remarkably, well, sparse in its arrangement of the racks. All of them were arranged around the store in a way that he guessed was meant to be 'designer', and the clothes were then sorted according to that. Or price. Or style. He really had no clue.

Even after two years with Alice as a shopping 'buddy', Seth was still an idiot and a newb when it came down to fashion. It probably had something to do with the fact that he just didn't really care about what he wore when he left the house – or his room – in the morning.

Once Heidi had picked out an armful of clothes, she motioned for Seth to follow her to the back of the store where the dressing rooms were. Then she had Seth model each one of the outfits that she'd picked out for him; either nixing them or nodding her head in approval. The stack of yes clothes that would be leaving with them grew quickly, and the entire trying of stuff took a lot longer then Seth would have liked it to.

It took Heidi nearly an hour and a half before she was satisfied with their selection from the first store. She paid for all of the clothes, which were then folded and neatly placed into bags. Seth covered his ears with his hands when the clerk read out the total; he didn't need to hear that Heidi had just blown a small fortune on him.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Heidi was asking as she handed off half of the bags to Seth as they left the store. "I've got another two places lined up, but I don't think that we'll be able to hit them both tonight."

"I don't think we'll get to any of that sightseeing either," Seth grumbled; he'd been looking forward to that more then he had the shopping.

"Well that's something that we can leave for another time then. Though, some of the places are really difficult to get into after dark; we'll probably have to pull a few strings with the big three." _More like you'll need Marcus if you want to see them._

"Caius and Aro would never do anything nice for me, and you know it." Seth shuddered, "I'm still having nightmares from some of the shit that Aro put me through and Caius can't stand to be near me at all."

"I was talking about Marcus," Heidi rolled her eyes in a dramatic manner. "He let you come with me, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah he did –"

"So what's to say that he wouldn't give you permission to see the sights of Volterra? I bet if you asked him nicely enough, he'd show you them himself." Heidi gave Seth a wink that had implications that the young man would rather _**not**_ think about.

"It's not like that." He blushed and looked at his feet.

"Don't lie to me Seth," Heidi sighed, taking on a serious air and manner. "I might not have known you for all that long, but I know when you're lying. You have definitely got feelings of some kind for Marcus, so I definitely think – no I know – that you wouldn't mind if what's between the two of you became something more then friendship."

Seth continued to look down at his feet, "Well, okay fine. You've got me there. But damn it, I won't admit to anything else."

That made Heidi grin, "Fine, then I will figure it out on my own." _But you just gave it all away right there mister._

"Are we going to be finished this shopping soon? I'm starting to get a bit tired," Seth yawned to prove his point. He'd changed the subject out of dangerous territory, but he was feeling a bit tired so getting back to the palace soon would be a good idea.

With an enthusiastic nod, Heidi let the subject drop for the time being, she pointed with one bag loaded hand to another little boutique just a ways ahead of them, "I just want to go in there and then we'll be done, alright?"

"Fine. But do we have to do the whole dress-up thing again? That was kind of a pain."

"That's where all the fun is!" Heidi laughed. "Besides, if you don't try the clothes on, then how do you know what works and what doesn't?"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

When they were finally chased out of the little boutique it was well past midnight; Heidi had managed to charm the manager into staying open a few hours longer then usual in order to accommodate them, and she'd made sure to throw in a little extra for their trouble.

Seth thought that was very nice of her.

Then there was the long haul back to the palace, during which the two of them fell into a comfortable silence and occasionally chatted about some inane thing or another. The subject of Marcus and Seth's tangled, complex relationship with him was never broached, although it stayed in the back of Heidi's mind throughout the return trip.

"I'll help you put all of this away before I go change." Heidi followed Seth inside, her arms full of shopping bags. "I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Unfortunately for them, there was an unpleasant little 'welcoming' party waiting for them at the front doors of the palace.

Aro was standing there, looking as imposing as ever. His usual charmed half-smile was gone from his lips and was instead replaced with a look of drawn anger; he clearly wasn't pleased to see that Seth hadn't remained on the palace grounds. He hadn't been informed that Seth had gotten permission to leave; after all, he had stipulated that the young wolf needed either his, Caius', or Marcus' permission to wander into the town.

Beside Aro was Jane, a sadistic look of glee upon her angelic face. She was like a little devil; she looked like the sweetest little girl one could imagine, but on the inside she was pure evil and liked nothing more then to hurt people and to 'play' with them.

Lurking a good distance behind the two was Alec, with the usual bored look on his face. He wouldn't participate in the torture that Seth was now sure he'd have to endure, but he wouldn't try to stop it either. Much like Marcus, Alec was a bit of an enigma.

"Seth," Aro called; is voice was oddly cheery and not at all strained like Seth had expected. "I don't believe that you had plans for tonight that I was made aware of."

Seth swallowed, hard, "Heidi wanted to show me a little bit of Volterra and then she insisted on dragging me shopping..."

His voice tapered off weakly under the vampire's harsh glare, which then switched to Heidi for a few moments. The younger female vampire cringed, and moved to hide a little bit behind Seth out of instinct; Aro was downright scary when angered.

"Ah, I wasn't aware that you had permission to leave the palace to accompany her," Aro murmured, switching back into his sweetened honey tone which Seth had grown accustomed to.

"She wouldn't have taken me if I didn't have the permission to leave." Seth's voice was surprisingly strong considering the situation. He didn't flinch at Aro's tone, but inside he was shaking from the force of will it was taking not to shrink away from the very pissed off vampire in front of him.

"Ah, but you didn't ask for permission." Now Aro smiled; a saccharin sweet one that spoke of future pain that Seth would have to endure shortly. "Neither Caius nor I were consulted on this matter; you know the punishment for breaking the rules we set for you."

Beside Aro, Jane gave a horrid smile; inching a little closer to Seth as she did so. She was too pleased by how this was working out, that she wouldn't need some half-baked excuse in order to torture the living daylights out of Seth as she normally did.

"But I did have permission," Seth replied, softer then before. He could feel the nervousness creeping in and clawing at the inside of his stomach. If this didn't end soon, then he'd probably wind up being sick all over the stone walkway in front of him. "When I asked Marcus –"

"And why would Marcus give you permission?" Aro continued to smile, only this time it turned out darker; much more sinister then the merely sweet one of before which only hinted at the dark intentions. This one so blatantly stated those sadistic inclinations that it was like being slapped in the face with a rubber chicken; one couldn't miss it.

"You can ask him if you want," Seth snapped back as his hands clenched into fists. He was suddenly very glad that Heidi was carrying the bags as the handles of them would've cut into his palms and that was the last thing that he needed to be worrying about. "Doesn't change the fact that I did have permission to leave; you said that I only needed to get it from either yourself, Caius, _**or Marcus**_. And I got it from one of you. I don't see what the problem is."

"Marcus doesn't talk to anyone stupid," Jane snapped impishly. "He hasn't spoken in centuries; why should he change for you?"

Aro turned to Heidi, "Heidi, you have somewhere to be tomorrow. I suggest you take care of anything you need to do now; I'll deal with you later, when you return."

Heidi gave Seth an apologetic look, but then quickly darted around Aro. In a flash of movement too fast to follow, she'd disappeared down the main hallway and turned down one of the many side hallways. The soft boom of a heavy door closing reached their ears, and then silence was returned.

It didn't last for long.

"I'm not lying." Seth glared at the tiny vampire, focusing all of his anger and hatred on the girl. He knew that she'd be the one to 'punish' him, and he wasn't looking forward to having to suffer through another too long bout of exposure to her power.

He could still remember the last time, and it made him internally shiver at the memory of it.

"Oh?"

Seth glared at Aro, his hands trembling at his sides, "I'm not lying, you can ask Marcus. I asked him, and he said that it would be fine as long as I was back before dawn. And I got back before that."

It was true; the sun wouldn't be rising for another couple of hours. Heidi had been in no danger of exposing her kind when she'd gone with him into the city.

Jane was smiling sadistically. There was a look in her eyes that told Seth that it didn't matter if he had permission or not; she had every intention of torturing him until he screamed his throat raw from the pain of it all. And both of them knew that Aro was sceptical of his story, and that it was completely likely that he would let Jane have free reign over his punishment even if it was true.

Aro sighed, his face creasing into a small frown, "Unfortunately, I don't have the time to waste to look into this matter. Seth, I was expecting better of you." He turned away from the young wolf, "I'll leave his punishment to you then, dear one."

She beamed back up at him, "Of course master. I will do it with pleasure."

That made Aro's frown turn into a smile, "I regret that I will not be here to observe it."

With one final look at Seth, Aro turned away, disappearing just the way Heidi had into the deeper reaches of the Volturi's sanctuary. Once he was out of sight, Jane turned back to Seth, her face twisting even further into a look of pure malice.

"Are you ready for our 'fun', wolf?"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Yes, I'm evil and I know it. I'll be leaving you hanging with this ending until next week, and you will just have to wait and see how it all turns out. I get the feeling there may be a few people who may or may not throw fits or start pestering to know what happens next. But don't worry about anything _**too**_ dark happening, because there's still quite a lot of this fic left to go. Also, more of my fail at Italian.

As always, review if you liked or if you're going to favorite or alert; I always love hearing from you guys and I'll always reply to your reviews if you have questions or concerns. Just go ahead and ask.

Twilight.

**Italian Translation:**

_Ciao, posso ottenere un tavolo per due?_ : Hello, can I get a table for two?  
C'è qualcosa che posso ricevere per voi due? : Is there anything I can get for you two?  
_Non adesso_ : Not now.  
_Dimmi quando sei pronto a ordinare allora_ : Tell me when you're ready to order then.  
_Sei pronto a ordinare_ : Are you ready to order?


	8. VIII Brewing Storms

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** VIII. Brewing Storms  
**Prompt:** 030. close  
**Words:** 5207 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**VIII. Brewing Storms**

Marcus had stopped paying attention to his book. He'd stopped really reading it after Seth had wrapped his arms around him in that hug. For some reason, he couldn't get it out of his head. The young man had been able to worm his way under his mental shields, through that wall of ice that he'd erected around his heart, and made himself at own in his own way.

To put it simply, the young man put him off balance.

But he surprisingly didn't mind that. He really liked Seth. Although, with how that small part of his mind whispered incessantly at him from the back of his mind, he knew that what he felt was more than just simple liking.

It was that part of him which he'd thought had died along with _**her**_ that kept telling him that what he felt for Seth went beyond something purely platonic. After all, no one else since her had understood him so well, and no one else had been able to draw him out of the shell which he'd retreated into. She had made him happy, and he had loved her for that. She had been beautiful.

But Seth made him happy too.

And he wanted to make the young man happy too. That was the deciding factor. He desperately wanted to be the one who made Seth feel welcome, feel like Volterra was really his home, because that would make Marcus himself happy as well. There was that, and he was anxious to spend time with Seth outside of their little sanctuary of his library.

If there was anything he could do for Seth, he'd do anything to keep him safe and happy. He wasn't sure how or when it had happened, but he was sure that he was falling for Seth, even if he was already there.

Just as Marcus was thinking of something which he could do for Seth, his thoughts were interrupted by the doors of the library crashing against the stone walls as they were thrown open. He let loose a heavy sigh.

_What now?_

He knew that it wasn't Seth because the young wolf was always careful with the doors; he knew how much Marcus enjoyed the peace and quiet of the library. It didn't register in his conscious that he could pinpoint exactly when Seth entered the library by the sound of how the doors were opened.

It was when the scent filtered through the musty smell of the library and Seth's own stale smell, that Marcus snapped out of his train of thought completely. He knew that scent.

_What's Alec doing in here?_

Marcus knew the young vampire respected his privacy, but also that Alec was the quiet type who wasn't easily agitated. He was in stark contrast to his sister who was easily angered and quick to use her powers for both her own gain and her own pleasure, whereas Alec tended to use his power sparingly and only when he was ordered to.

Alec was a good and loyal member of the guard. Although, he wasn't too fond of Aro, and he sometimes made that very clear whenever he was around the ancient vampire. He didn't approve of some of the things that Aro had done.

Which led Marcus to wonder why Alec was there, since he doubted anything could have happened which would require his attention.

Alec skidded slightly into view from around one of the bookcases, the same one which Seth usually peeked around whenever he came in to visit Marcus. His expression, however, was alarming because usually Alec was very calm and level-headed, he didn't usually show very many emotions. Whatever was wrong, then, had to be serious.

He set his book aside on the table beside him and waited for the young vampire to break the now tense silence.

"Did you give the shifter permission to enter Volterra with Heidi?"

Marcus' face creased into a frown, "I did, was there... some sort of problem?"

At that, Alec's face pitched into an even darker look of what looked to be a mix of concern and confusion, "Aro didn't believe him when he said that you gave him permission."

When he said that, Marcus felt his stomach drop up into his throat despite the fact that he could no longer eat, but that didn't mean that he still didn't have some very human reactions when it came to his emotions. It was just that he hadn't experienced them in so long that they'd become very unfamiliar to him.

Alec continued, very subdued, "He turned him over to Jane for punishment as he believes that he broke the rules which were set out for him when he was brought here."

Marcus was on his feet and at the oak doors to the library by the time that Alec finished his sentence. If what the young vampire said was true, then he had no time to get to Seth to stop Jane's unique brand of torture, but he could interrupt it; he could halt it before it went too far. He couldn't – wouldn't – let anyone hurt Seth, not if it was in his power to stop it.

_Don't let me be too late._

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The pain was as unimaginable as the first time he'd experienced it. Seth hated it. He hated how he couldn't vocalize the pain that he was experiencing. Whatever it was about Jane's powers that seemed to cut off his voice, he didn't know, but it only made what he was experiencing worse.

Beneath him, the cold stone of the floor hurt as he thrashed about in a vain attempt to try to alleviate the pain; something that he knew was impossible because it was all an illusion; it was all inside his head.

"Stop."

Seth couldn't filter through the pain, but he was suddenly aware of a new scent, one that he was intensely familiar with. He would know that scent anywhere.

Marcus.

But what was Marcus doing there? He should have still been in the library... or back in his wing; not coming after Jane or him. Seth was confused, but very relieved when the pain stopped almost instantly after Marcus spoke.

He lay on the floor of the entrance hall, gasping for breath as his fingers relaxed from their clenched position on the marble floor. Then the exhaustion started to kick in, but Seth forced himself to keep his eyes open. He needed to see this; he needed to see what would happen because something told him that something big was about to go down.

Marcus had moved to take up a slightly defensive position in front of Seth's prone body. His back was to Seth, so the young wolf couldn't see his expression, but he was tense, fingers spread and hooked like claws. The aura he was giving off was one of anger, possessiveness, and protectiveness. There was no way that he was going to move from where he was in front of Seth.

That came as a relief to Seth, because if someone was willing to come between him and the little devil, then he wasn't going to complain. And the fact that it was Marcus only seemed to make Seth feel both all the more relieved, but it also set a strange feeling burning deep in his chest.

When Marcus next spoke, his voice was rough with anger, "You will not treat him as such again."

He could see Jane sneering at Marcus from around the vampire's protective stance, but Seth could see that there was fear in her eyes. She was... scared of Marcus. That surprised him; he'd never thought that Jane could possibly be scared of anyone. Her personality was too domineering for fear to be a part of it.

"I was only following orders," she snapped back at the older vampire, but her posture had shifted. It was no longer aggressive and threatening, but scared and perhaps a bit submissive. "He broke the rules that master set down for him; I was just punishing him as I was ordered to, and as he knew would happen if he didn't follow the master's orders."

"I gave Seth permission to go into Volterra," Marcus replied, his voice low, dangerous. "He broke no rules."

That took Jane off guard. But it seemed that the fact that Marcus was being so talkative was also confusing her and she glared at Seth hard and with pure hatred in her eyes, but he could see that there was a bit of curiosity there, deep within her dark red eyes. It was only then that Seth was slowly beginning to realize that maybe there was some truth to what Heidi had told him.

"_Marcus doesn't talk, though. That's why I'm surprised that he's been talking to you. I've known him for two centuries, Seth, and I've never once heard him say a single word."_

What was it that was so special about him that could make Marcus talk? What was it about him that could make Marcus different from how he'd been for so many years? Seth didn't know the answers to those questions, and he was wondering just what it was that had made Marcus who he was until Seth had danced in and changed things. Hell, he didn't even know what he'd changed about Marcus!

"You – you're lying!" Venom flew from Jane's mouth as she flew into a near rage.

"Why would I lie to you Jane?" Marcus asked his own voice full of pure venom. "Seth came to me for permission. I granted it. Is that really so hard for you to believe?"

She continued to glare at Marcus with such a passion that Seth was amazed that she hadn't burned a hole in the ancient vampire's forehead. But then she gave a great huff, turned on her heel, and stormed off.

She called back over her shoulder, "Watch your back shifter! Marcus won't always be there to protect you!"

In the distance, Seth could hear a door being slammed closed, and knew that Jane was going to report her findings to Aro. She was horribly loyal to the Volturi leader, to the point where she demonstrated an almost warped and disturbing love of him. It seemed, though, that Aro encouraged those feelings of her from how he treated her.

For one, he called her 'dear one'. And another, he had no problem showering her face and lips with kisses whenever she had done something right in his mind. It seemed that Sulpicia had no problem with this, because she too demonstrated an unnatural fondness for the tiny vampire.

Once Jane was gone, Marcus relaxed his defensive posture and turned to Seth. His eyes were the same dark red that they'd been earlier in the night when he'd gone to him for permission, only now they were filled with an emotion that Seth didn't want to put a name to.

Seth still felt boneless from the pain inflicted on him, and he was still breathing heavily. He knew that he wouldn't be able to walk or stand, he couldn't feel his legs.

The ancient vampire bent down, kneeling on one knee as one of his arms looped under Seth's knees while the other came around his shoulders. He gently lifted Seth off the ground and into his arms as though the young shifter weighed nothing at all – and he knew that he probably did – and stood back up to his full height.

"Seth."

Having already snuggled closer unconsciously, Seth mumbled out, "Yeah?"

He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep right then, the comfort of Marcus' smell and also from just having the vampire near was enough for him to just surrender to the darkness which was quickly encroaching on his consciousness.

"Sleep. We'll talk later."

The wolf nodded sleepily, before leaning his head back onto Marcus' shoulder and drifting off into a deep sleep.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Marcus inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when the young wolf's breathing evened out. He could feel his emotions calming themselves down inside of himself, and he knew that if it wasn't for the fact that he was dead and his heart no longer beat that the organ would have been slowing at that moment. There was no adrenaline to pump through his veins, but that still didn't mean that he hadn't been worried beyond anything he'd ever felt before.

_Seth, what have you done to me?_

He could still sense Alec close by. The young vampire was watching him, his face inscrutable and calm as he watched from where the hallway joined the entrance hall. He didn't move as Marcus walked over and paused beside him.

"Alec, fetch Heidi for me."

The younger vampire inclined his head, "Shall I send her to the shifter's room?"

Alec seemed surprised at Marcus' orders as his eyes widened marginally for a second, but he said nothing about them and only inclined his head again, "As you wish."

Then he disappeared into the alcove which hid the servants' staircase, dashing up to the third floor to find the female vampire who would be leaving that morning to lure in some needed prey for the Volturi. Whatever it was about the shifter that was causing these changes in Marcus, Alec didn't know, but now the ancient vampire was to be feared even more then before. Something in him had snapped, and it didn't seem like things would go back to the way that they had been.

Meanwhile, Marcus walked as quickly as he could towards his wing. He knew Jane well, and he knew that the moment he left Seth alone and unguarded, she would strike with twice the amount of force that she'd used before in revenge. He couldn't leave Seth without protection; not anymore.

Turning the corner, Marcus broke out into a run, anxious to make Seth more comfortable. No one had except Aro and Caius had been within Marcus' quarters aside from him, and he had intended to keep them as isolated from everyone else as possible, but something had twisted inside of him, making him unable to stand leaving Seth alone and unguarded against Jane's powers.

He knew that there were only three people in the Volturi who could control Jane when she was on the warpath. Those people were himself, Aro, and Alec. He couldn't be with Seth all the time, not when he was one of the three leaders of the Volturi, but if he ordered it, then Alec could stay with him when Marcus was unable. And Heidi... she was the wolf's friend, he believed that she would be more then willing to help keep him safe.

Marcus' bedchamber was largely empty. After she'd passed on, he hadn't seen much point in returning furniture or even changing it very much from how it had been on that day.

He had never understood her attachment to beds, but now Marcus was finding that he was grateful that his first love – and since when he'd taken to referring to her as that, he didn't know – had held that sentiment, because he knew that Seth would appreciate waking up on a bed instead of a couch, or worse, the _**floor**_.

The room was simple, with high, arched ceilings as in the library, and with similar gothic style windows. Like all the other rooms in the palace, it was lit with wall scones, only these ones were different in that they carried on the taste in architecture that all of Marcus' rooms held. Wrought iron in the design of vines wrapped around the frosted glass, and was how they were mounted to the stone walls.

Unlike the walls in much of the palace, most of the walls in the rooms of Marcus' wing were covered in plaster that was a soft, cream color. She had felt that it brought a certain warmth to place, accentuating the natural light which the windows let in, and absorbing the light from the wall scones to bring that out even more.

He supposed it gave the room a very welcoming feel. Although, he'd never really noticed it before, but it made him hope that Seth wouldn't be too freaked out by his sudden change in scenery.

A deep red and gold carpet had been spread across the middle of the room. At the far side of the room was the bed which she had loved so much and had remained untouched since her second death. It was centered between the two windows there, which deep crimson curtains hung over.

As he lay Seth down on the dark coverlet, he could still faintly smell the scent of her clinging to the sheets. It was one of the few remainders of her presence and existence that he held, and now he was distorting it with a new scent, that of someone who was slowly creeping into his heart and healing it. The pain, though, of his replacing her scent with Seth's, though, was weak and only really felt like a dull ache in his chest compared to the sharp pain he'd felt when he thought of Jane hurting the young man.

_Dear lord, just how much do you mean to me Seth?_

Before Marcus could dwell any further on that question, there was a soft knocking at the door. He took an unneeded deep breath before speaking.

"Enter."

Alec entered first, his face carefully arranged into a perfect mask of neutrality; it was the first time he'd been in Marcus' chambers, but he didn't show any surprise at having been ordered there. He stood at attention just inside the door, hands behind his back and clenched together as he waited for his instructions.

Then there was Heidi whose face was plastered with worry and guilt but also a little bit of apprehension and perhaps some fear. It was clear that she blamed herself for Seth's wrongful punishment, and she seemed to be suffering from a dilemma of whether or not she would be allowed to approach to make sure that her friend was alright. Marcus' tense presence, though, kept her at bay and she stood nervously just inside the doors, wringing her hands as her eyes shifted from the ancient vampire to the unconscious wolf lying on his bed.

"Heidi," Marcus began, voice soft. "I will need you to move Seth's belongings from his room in the guest wing to this room."

"Right..." She chewed her lip nervously, nodding her head to show that she understood. Finally, she couldn't stand the suspense any longer and caved, "Is Seth alright?"

A slight incline of the head, "Yes, he will be fine." _I wouldn't hesitate to kill Jane if it was otherwise._

She let out a huge sigh of relief, her lips turning up into a relieved smile, "That's... I'm relieved to hear that."

It didn't escape Marcus' notice that there was a suspicious light in her eyes they flickered from him to Seth and back again. He wondered just what it was that the young wolf had told the female vampire, because there was a knowing tint to that gaze as well. Heidi might have already begun to put the pieces together just as Marcus had.

He turned away from her and the smaller vampire at the door, letting his eyes graze over Seth's peacefully sleeping face. Even he still couldn't completely understand why he felt so protective of him, it was just... he couldn't stand to leave him somewhere that Jane had easy access to him.

"May I ask why you're moving Seth here to your wing?" Heidi quickly looked to her feet when Marcus' attention was suddenly back on her. "It's just... you don't have to answer that, I was out of place in asking."

"He will be safer from Jane if he stays here," was Marcus' simple response. That much was true; Jane wasn't allowed in Marcus' wings, no one was unless they had his express permission. He trailed his gaze over her and Alec. "I do, though, have orders for the both of you. But Heidi, I know that you would do this already."

"Huh?" She blinked at him in confusion.

The tiniest of smiles creased Marcus' lips as he recalled the energy and eagerness that Seth had demonstrated whenever he talked of Heidi, as though he was reflecting that same enthusiasm which she showed towards him and whatever they did together. He just enjoyed listening to and watching Seth talk sometimes.

"He's spoken quite highly of you," Marcus replied. "I know that I can trust you to watch over him, even if you can't stop Jane."

"Well, you did scare her pretty badly back there..." Apprehension was clear in Heidi's voice; this wasn't the Marcus she was used to or knew. For one, Marcus didn't hold conversations with people. Talking to Marcus was like talking to a brick wall. "So I doubt that she'll try anything for a while, especially if someone is around who could report back to you about anything she's done to Seth."

"I don't want him left alone."

That made a few things click together in Heidi's mind, "You want me to spend more time with him?"

He nodded, before directing what he said next to Alec, "And Alec, I want you to stay with Seth whenever Heidi or myself are unable to. Keep your sister from doing something that she will come to regret."

Alec inclined his head, eyes closed, "Aro will not be pleased to hear that you stopped Jane. He'll want an explanation for why you acted the way you did."

"That is for me to deal with," Marcus responded. "But Seth will not be left alone, see to that. One of you must stay with him whenever I'm unable or unavailable."

When he turned away from them that time to sit on the edge of the bed, both of the younger vampires knew that they were being dismissed. Alec disappeared out of the doors first, whereas Heidi hesitated as she stood in the doorway, her eyes still flickering between them.

"He's not going to like that."

Marcus sighed, again with the slight smile that Heidi couldn't see, "I know."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Since he didn't want to wake Seth, when Heidi brought Seth's belongings down to his room, he chose to settle the young man in himself. His own wardrobe, which was reached through a small door in one wall, was rather sparse so it wasn't too difficult for him to fit everything that Heidi had bought for him inside of it alongside his own clothes.

When it came to the toiletries, Marcus was confused by them – since he didn't use them really – so he just set them in the bathroom in the medicine cabinet.

The bathroom itself was, surprisingly, much more modern then most of the rooms which Marcus occupied in his wing. He'd been under a bit of pressure to change it since it had still been the same even after hundreds of years and had long since quit being efficient, so he'd allowed Aro to commission a human architect and designer to design a new bathroom for him, and then it had been redone.

He hadn't really made notice of it before.

Once all of Seth's clothes and toiletries had been put away, Marcus turned his attention to the little things which the young man had brought with him. Since there was no other furniture in the room apart from the bed, Marcus turned his attention to a few of the other rooms in his wing to steal a few things from.

He'd been using the room across from his study as a sort of storage room, and he found a bureau there that had never seen any use before and matched the dark wood of his bed. That he moved into the room, placing it against the right wall of the room between the door to the bathroom and the bed. He then carefully arranged the few framed photographs on it, and stacked the albums on the end.

If there was anything that Seth wanted to change about how he'd set up the room or put his things, then that could be changed when he woke up.

Deciding that maybe making Seth a bit more comfortable, Marcus removed his shoes, placed those in the closet, and then maneuvered him so that he was tucked carefully under the covers. He watched as the young wolf tensed for a few minutes before snuggling deeper into the bed and letting out a sigh as he continued to sleep.

Gently, Marcus reached out and brushed back Seth's bangs from his face, watching with a slight smile on his face as Seth's face wrinkled up for a few moments before it settled back into its former peaceful expression. He was, though, just a little surprised when Seth shifted a little closer to his hand before he pulled it away completely. It always amazed him that Seth could want to be as close to him as he did, that he genuinely enjoyed his company and conversation. Normally people shied away from him.

_I'm just not very approachable._

Deciding that he should probably head Aro off before the vampire had a chance to start piecing together a completely wrong story, Marcus took one last look at Seth's face before he turned away, making his way out of his wing and towards where he was sure he'd find Aro.

The entrance hall.

He found Aro and Jane easily enough in the entrance hall. Aro was standing near the base of the huge decorative archway which led out into the courtyard. In his left hand he held a newspaper in one hand, and what looked to be some typed reports; his other hand was loosely clenched into a fist. Despite how calm he looked overall, it was clear that Aro was tense, anxious even.

On his immediate left was Jane, who had tucked herself just slightly behind the ancient vampire. She looked at Marcus with a mix of hatred and fear in her eyes, and yet she would do nothing against him, even if ordered. Not that Aro would ever resort to that, he knew how weak his hold over Marcus was.

"Aro," he inclined his head, "Jane."

"Marcus," Aro returned the gesture. Jane only inclined her head in greeting. Aro ignored her for the time being, instead keeping his attention focused on Marcus. "I have heard that you took exception to our young guest's punishment."

"It was unjust." Marcus was keeping his anger in check as best he could, it wouldn't do to show Aro just how much Seth had come to mean to him; he wouldn't let him use the young man like that. "He had my permission to leave for the city with Heidi; that was within your rules. Unless, of course, you changed them without his or my knowing."

That seemed to surprise Aro, his eyebrows rose, "You... gave him permission?"

"Yes, I saw no reason why he couldn't go into the city. Heidi was with him as well, so he did have an escort. I fail to see how any of that could have warranted you handing him over to Jane for punishment."

Aro was trying to fit all the pieces together in such a way as for them to make sense, "I wasn't aware that you and he had been introduced to each other."

"I met him shortly after he was brought here," Marcus replied smoothly. "He came to the library, and I happened to be there, and he introduced himself. We have been... conversing on a rather regular basis ever since."

Marcus actually had no idea how to categorize his experiences and the time which he'd spent with Seth. It was true that they talked quite a bit, on a variety of topics, and that he found the young wolf engaging, but they also did more then that. Sometimes Seth would seek him out for a reccomendation of what he should read next, and Marcus would give him something that he thought he would enjoy. Sometimes they just spent an evening together in silence, with Seth leaning against the chair, his head resting against the side of Marcus' knee as the vampire read whatever book he'd picked out for that evening.

Sometimes they read to each other. They're interactions were quite difficult to classify, but Marcus wouldn't trade them for anything else in the whole world. They were something special, and he treasured each and every one of them.

"Ah, I see." Aro lifted his free hand to his face, cupping his chin as he slipped into thought. After several long moments, he nodded, as though he'd decided on something. "Well, please offer my apologies to Seth for the... misunderstanding. I assume that he has been returned to his room."

"Yes." Marcus didn't think that it mattered that he'd moved Seth from the room which he had originally been given into one in his own wing, since he already considered it to be the young wolf's – and also his – he didn't think that it was really a lie.

"Very well. I have another matter which I need to discuss with you." He handed the reports to Jane, while he unfolded the newspaper. It was one from the city. He indicated an article towards the bottom of the page with a pale finger.

_**Mysterious murders continue to count.**_

That made Marcus raise an eyebrow, he continued to read an article, and phrases began to jump out at him as he did.

_'Autopsy reports show that both victims had suffered extreme trauma before death.'_

_'Drained almost completely of blood.'_

_'Either a satanic cult or a deranged serial killer is believed to be at fault.'_

_'The worst stain on the history of our fair city.'_

He looked to Aro, his expression serious, "They're getting closer to the city."

Aro nodded, "They are. We can't be sure yet, though, if this is some idiot's attempt to grab our attention or if a newborn has been released, whether that would be on purpose or no. I have advised that the city be put on alert and Jane will be leaving after she has fed to see if she can find any information that the humans may have missed."

Marcus gave a thoughtful hum. Now he was very glad that he had assigned Heidi and Alec to guard Seth; there was no way that he would be leaving the young man alone now that there was the possibility that a rampant newborn on the loose, or someone who was trying to grab their attention.

Whoever it was, they definitely had it now.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Okay, for one, I am so, so, SO sorry that this was later then usual in being posted. I've been having some problems with my laptop, and that's where this fic is. The glitching is that the brightness is being really wonky and I'm probably going to have to take it in to be fixed because it's becoming a real problem and I actually do really need my laptop for essential things and not just for my fanfiction.

Remember, if you are going to favorite OR alert this fic, leave a review, thanks. And, as always, leave a review if you've enjoyed the story.

Twilight.


	9. IX A Spiral of Minds

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** IX. A Spiral of Minds  
**Prompt:** 002. sweet ; 028. want  
**Words:** 5411 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**IX. A Spiral of Minds**

An unfamiliar scent filled Seth's nostrils as he started to wake up. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open, surprised at the dim light which greeted him when he did. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he blinked blearily and wiped away the sleep from his eyes so that he could get a better look at the room that he now found himself in.

It was definitely not his room, because the walls weren't made of bricks of sandstone, but were covered with a warm, cream colored plaster. The same wall scones that lit the rest of the palace were present in this room, but they had been dimmed and were mounted to the wall by wrought iron vines which twisted up onto the frosted glass. As for furniture, the room was surprisingly empty of it.

The bed which Seth woke up on was a huge four poster, which was carved from ebony. The sheets were a soft golden color – as were the pillows – and the coverlet was a deep crimson that was trimmed with gold embroidery. Besides the bed, the only other piece of furniture in the room was a bureau which matched the bed – in that it was also made from ebony – carved with decorative, elegant designs.

Just on the far side of the bureau was a small door, and on the left was what looked to be a wall made up partially of mirrors, but Seth quickly realized that they were sliding doors. He guessed that they led into the closet, while the smaller door led into the bathroom.

He still had absolutely no idea of where he was though, and he had a vague memory of what had happened the night before.

Pushing the covers off of him, Seth found that he was still fully dressed, just minus his jacket and shoes. He slipped out of the bed, finding a dark red carpet beneath his feet that was surprisingly warm despite the rather cool temperature of the room itself. Not that he was uncomfortable; in fact, he was starting to search through the other scents that he could detect now.

Faintly, he could smell Heidi's familiar scent, along with Alec's; but both were faint and were almost completely lost in the overpowering strength of Marcus'. That surprised him, because the only place which he could think of that had such a strong concentration of the ancient vampire's smell was in the library, and he was pretty sure that he wasn't there.

Which left him with only one viable alternative. He was probably in Marcus' wing.

Quickly, Seth crossed the room to the much larger oak doors which were clearly the exit, and gently opened one and peered out into the empty hallway beyond. A quick sweep of the hall told him that he was definitely in an area of the palace which he hadn't been in before; that only seemed to provide further evidence that he was most likely in Marcus' wing. Especially because his scent was just as powerful outside the room as it was inside of it.

Slipping into the hall, Seth found that the floor was the same white marble as throughout the rest of the palace, only a rich, red carpet ran along the centre of it. Stepping out of the room and into the hall, he looked around, putting his senses on alert to see if he could detect anyone in the wing with him.

Not hearing anything, Seth wondered if it would be alright if he took a little look around the wing or if he should just head back to his own room and pretend that he hadn't woken up in a different area of the palace where he was definitely not supposed to be. He didn't want to imagine the sort of trouble he'd be in if he was caught in one of the Volturi leader's wings; it would make what had happened to him last night look like a massage.

There was just one problem with Seth's plan of getting out of there.

He had absolutely no idea which way the exit was.

It wasn't like he could follow a scent trail out because both Heidi and Alec's scents, along with the faint scent of his own, had been obliterated by Marcus'. That made sense since he was in the ancient vampire's wing, but it presented a problem for Seth's escape. All of the trails which Marcus had left had blended into one another, making it impossible for him to follow one of them out.

"Seth."

Whipping around, Seth came face to face with the vampire whose wing he was currently standing in one of the hallways of.

Marcus didn't look angry. In fact, his entire face seemed to drain of tension when he saw Seth looking back at him, confused but very much alive and not seeming to have suffered any further complications from the torture which he'd been subjected to the night before. As a matter of fact, relief washed through him at the sight.

"Uh, Marcus why –"

"Are you... alright?" Suddenly the ancient vampire was right in front of him, dark red eyes looking him over with such a close scrutiny that it made Seth blush.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but why am I – okay, where am I?"

At that, Marcus blinked as though to say 'I thought that would be obvious', but he answered anyway, "You're in my wing, why?"

"Last I checked I wasn't allowed in your wing or any of the other's. So... why am I here?" Seth tried to shove away the feelings of warmth which were washing through him at that moment, because all they were doing was make him more confused then he already was.

"I brought you here," Marcus replied simply. When Seth raised an eyebrow with a silent question, he continued to explain. "I interfered with Jane's little torture session; I put a stop to it. She fears me, but she also has a nasty habit of taking out her frustration on those weaker then her. If I had returned you to your room in the guest wing, she would have only targeted you the moment I left, and that's something which I cannot allow."

Seth frowned, "I'm going to have to go back there."

"No. I had Heidi bring your things here."

That made Seth stare at the vampire as though he was crazy, "And you didn't even think to ask me about this?! This is my life we're talking about!"

At that, Marcus had the decency to look ashamed of himself, "I... you have my sincerest apologies Seth." He bowed his head, "I was only thinking of ways to keep you from further pain... however, it was wrong of me to take action without consulting you. Can you forgive me?"

"I can take care of myself," Seth replied slowly. He wasn't so sure of anything anymore, but he knew that Marcus' heart was in the right place and that the vampire was just looking out for him. Plus, he knew that Jane would come after him with even more passion then before; he'd be an idiot to turn down the offer that the ancient vampire was making. "But I guess that I could use your help in this."

Hesitantly, Marcus raised his eyes from where they'd been staring at the floor, daring to peek at Seth from under his bangs. He hadn't heard any words of forgiveness, but then again, he didn't expect to either. There were many times where he really and truly didn't understand Seth.

"I'm not mad at you Marcus; you don't have to look so down."

Straightening his neck, Marcus looked down at the young man, taking in the smile on his face that was filled with such warmth that it went straight to his own still heart. If his heart could have still beat, then it would have been pounding fiercely right then.

Marcus let out a sigh, "Again, I must apologize to you Seth... I... have not felt the need to protect someone as much as I do you in many, many years." _Not since __**her**__._

"I know." Seth smiled. From what Heidi had told him about Marcus, he knew that there was something different in the way he acted around him; he just didn't know why that was. The way Marcus was... Seth just didn't know him any other way then the way that he knew him. It was weird, and Seth didn't want to over-think it too much, because he really did like Marcus.

His attraction notwithstanding.

"Look Marcus," Seth sighed. "I'm not mad at you, and I can sort of understand where you're coming from... so I'm not going to hold this against you. You're forgiven."

Again, Seth refused to examine how his heart started thumping wildly when he saw Marcus' face light up in a small smile at hearing his words. He had no idea what Marcus was doing to him – and that scared him a lot – but it was also very much welcome because if what he said or did could make the vampire smile like that, then it was worth it.

No matter how wrong it was.

"Thank you." For a moment, Marcus was unsure of what his mind and body were screaming at him to do, but he finally gave in and reached out, brushing long, pale fingers along Seth's cheek. He marvelled at the heat that the young man gave off. He pulled his hand back before he was tempted to do anything more.

At the contact, Seth's face warmed up even more, turning a bright shade of red. He was familiar with the kind of strength which lurked in those hands, and he knew that even though he was much tougher then a human, he was still vulnerable if Marcus ever chose to utilize his full strength. Seth could still remember the pain from his fight with that young vampire years earlier, and that wasn't something which he was anxious to experience again.

Surprising himself, Seth reached out impulsively and took Marcus' hand in his. He gave the vampire his best grin and also gave the hand a small squeeze as he looked up at the confused vampire whose gaze flickered between their now entwined hands and Seth's face.

"How about you show me where everything is?"

Slowly, Marcus returned Seth's smile, feeling warmth blossoming in his chest, "Of course. Where would you like to start?"

Jerking his thumb at the room which he'd come out of, Seth said, "Start there, and we'll work our way through the wing."

An incline of the head, "That would be my bedchamber." Marcus made note of Seth's wide eyes and how red his face was at that bit of knowledge, and it only made him smile more as he continued, "But seeing as how I'm unable to sleep... you're free to use it."

There was silence for a few minutes, and Marcus wondered if he'd gone a bit far in saying what he had. After all, he did, in a way, consider it to be their room since both of them would be using it. While it was true that Marcus didn't need sleep, that didn't mean that he wouldn't be using the room since he did keep his clothes in the closet there.

"If that makes you uncomfortable, then I can remove my things from the room." Marcus wanted Seth to feel at home within his wing, and if that meant moving his things out of his own bedchamber and into the nearby storage room, then that was fine with him. He eventually hoped that Seth would grow more comfortable with him, but he wondered if that was maybe hoping for too much.

He wanted so much more from the young man, but he was scared of it too. He was letting go of her, and that was a huge step for him.

"_I want you to be happy Marcus, above everything else that is what I want. Even if that means you find it with someone else. We may have eternal life, but that doesn't mean we have an eternity."_

Seth shook his head, "No, that's fine. I mean, this is your wing; I'd feel horrible if I started pushing you out of your own rooms." He blushed, "And besides, I'm sure that you've got better things to do then watch me sleep."

An unintentional remainder of what was happening outside the palace walls. Marcus knew that they had a possible newborn on the loose in the countryside which surrounded Volterra, and the two reported murders had been far enough away to not warrant that they dispatch the guard, but it did mean that they were very interested in future developments.

"I have business that needs to be looked after," Marcus conceded. He knew that Seth had caught on that there was something wrong by the roughness of his voice. It made him uncomfortable that the young man could read him so easily.

"Something tells me that it's not pleasant."

"It's not."

They'd started down the hallway slowly, with the windows and French doors which led off onto the courtyard on their right, while they passed pieces of art – sculptures and paintings – on their left. Seth's attention was riveted on the vampire at his side while Marcus was concentrating on Seth.

"There have been some... murders in the area."

"But I –"

"No it's not us. None of us would be so stupid or so reckless to attack and kill humans so close to Volterra," Marcus' tone grew rougher, angrier, as he spoke. "Whoever it is is either a very new, young vampire who managed to slip away from their sire, or it's someone who is trying to grab our attention."

Marcus hadn't realized that he was trembling until Seth placed his other hand on his forearm as they came to a halt in front of the door to his study. He glanced down at the young man, seeing a look of fear cross his face – which only made his anger worse – along with compassion, sympathy.

"You're worried."

"Yes. All of us are."

Seth looked skeptical, "I can't picture Aro or Caius being worried about people dying."

Avoiding that mine field, Marcus clarified just a little, "What I fear is that the killings seem to be coming closer to Volterra. I... I doubt that this is the work of a newborn as Aro seems to believe it is. Whoever it is is trying to get our attention, but for whatever reason, I do not know."

"That sounds right, actually," Seth replied. "From what I know of newborns – and that's not much – they're not organized enough to do that sort of thing without being seen. They wouldn't leave so many people alive between wherever those... murders happened and here, so I think that you're right."

"How –"

"That newborn army in Seattle. We fought against them," Seth admitted. "The Cullens needed help, and well, we couldn't just ignore a threat which was that close to home so we offered our assistance."

"... I see."

"Is there something else on your mind?" Seth peered up at Marcus, taking a step closer to him to get a better look into those red eyes of his. Something was eating at the vampire, and he was trying to hide it and change the subject.

"If it is a newborn," Marcus began slowly, "Or if it's someone trying to get our attention, then we have placed you in danger."

Seth frowned and looked confused; Marcus found it adorable and it made him smile just a little before the gravity of the situation crashed back down on him and he looked serious once more.

"You might not realize it Seth, but you smell distinctly of us. Heidi and I in particular since we spend the most time with you." Marcus looked away from the wolf's eyes, unable to meet them any longer, "We have made you a target, and they may think to strike at you to get at us."

"I don't think I like where this is going."

"I doubt that you will," Marcus acknowledged. "But I would appreciate it if you would hear me out on this issue, because I will not be moved on this matter."

He returned his eyes to Seth's, dark red boring holes into the hazel eyes which peered back warily at him. Marcus watched as defeated acceptance slipped into those eyes, but he knew that in this instance he couldn't let Seth's power over him weaken his resolve in this matter.

"I do not want you in the city unaccompanied."

That surprised Seth just a little; he'd been expecting something worse, like being forbidden from going into the city at all, but he could live with that. He hadn't been planning on wandering into Volterra on his own since he wasn't familiar with the city and he spoke absolutely no Italian. He'd get lost easily and wind up like some stupid lost tourist.

"I can live with that," Seth replied. He smiled up at the vampire, "I wasn't planning on wandering around the city on my own anyway since I'd probably get lost and then someone would have to come looking for me."

Marcus let out a relieved sigh with a small smile, "Thank you Seth."

"I can take Heidi with me; she's determined to make sure that I have as big a wardrobe as her, at least." He rolled his eyes as he thought of his good friend's enthusiasm for shopping. It seemed like fate that he was supposed to be a dress-up doll for female vampires.

"Heidi will not always be there," Marcus chided the young man. He began to lead Seth towards the door of his study. "She does have a few... duties within the Volturi which she needs to see to, and unfortunately those come before you."

"I know, she's told me about... about that." Seth looked at his feet, unconsciously moving a little closer to Marcus' side. He didn't like to think of all the innocent people who were killed in order to sustain the Volturi, some of whom he'd begun to care about very much. But he knew that Aro would never allow them to follow the Cullens' example; he was firm in his belief that human blood was their true food source.

"I am sorry."

"No, you don't have to apologize; I know that it's how you live, and she... she has tried to explain it to me, so I can sort of understand where she – and you – are coming from with this. It doesn't change anything." _You and her... I still care._

Seth sighed, "I'll try not to think about it... but if she's not around, would you come with me into Volterra?" He looked up at Marcus, giving the vampire his best 'puppy eyes' as Heidi had dubbed them, "I bet you could show me a lot more of the city and its history, and I wouldn't have to go shopping for clothes," here he made a face which Marcus thought was adorable, "And we could go and check out a bookstore."

"I would be more then happy too." Marcus was shocked; he hadn't meant to say that, the words had just jumped out of his mouth before he had the time to think them through. But then he saw the look on Seth's face, and he couldn't find it in himself to take back what he'd said.

"Really? Thanks!" Again, Seth beamed up at the vampire, squeezing his hand gently in his.

Marcus couldn't help but squeeze back with a faint smile. If making Seth happy required him to wander among humans with their twisted and overly complex relationships, then he would deal with it. A headache was worth seeing Seth so happy, so alive. Marcus knew that he would do anything to keep that brightness in Seth's eyes, and to see him smile like he just had.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Marcus cleared his throat, cracking open the door to his study which they had stopped in front of. He smiled at Seth, "I believe that I was supposed to be showing you around."

Seth smiled back playfully, "Yes, I think you were."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

By the end of the tour, Seth had decided that Marcus' wing had to be the most beautiful place in Italy. Much of it was gothic inspired in terms of the architecture, but many Greek inspirations had managed to make their way into it. Seth had been pleasantly surprised to learn that much of the art which hung in the hallways – that depicted scenes from ancient Greek mythology – had been painted by Marcus himself.

All of the hallways had the same warm cream colored plaster covering them, with deep red carpeting running along the centre of the floor. On occasion, statues and paintings interrupted the expanse of wall between the windows which looked out over the central courtyard of the palace and also the few doors of Marcus' wing which was inhabited by only the two of them.

Marcus' wing was only a single floor, and it had its own courtyard complete with fountain and a huge willow tree which dominated the centre of the courtyard, with the fountain arranged off to one side. The soft tinkling of water, along with the faint sound of the leaves and branches blowing in the breeze was incredibly relaxing, and Seth was already imaging settling down in the yard with a book and just spending an afternoon or two reading.

Most of the rooms weren't in use and were empty or filled with furniture that was covered in a thin film of dust and probably hadn't seen daylight in many years.

Seth thought that a lot of it was wasted space since he didn't think that only one person – or even two – would ever need all of the rooms that was in Marcus' wing alone. And from what he could guess, it was probably very likely that both Aro and Caius' wings had a similarly large amount of space.

"This seems like an awful lot of space for one person," he commented when they returned to the main hall of the wing which led out into the main body of the palace. "And you only use a few of the rooms.

Marcus shrugged, "Aro oversaw the entire design and took very little input from either myself or Caius; he likes grandeur."

"So I'm used to smaller spaces." Seth let Marcus lead him towards the sitting room which was just off of the main hall. It was possibly one of Seth's favourite rooms in the entire palace – next to the library – and he thought that it would be a good place to spend time with Marcus since it guaranteed them peace and quiet without the threat of being interrupted by Jane. "Doesn't it get lonely having all this space to yourself?"

_You share it with me now; I find it much more peaceful._ "I…"

Talking about her was always difficult. Hell, Marcus still couldn't bring himself to even think her name because the wounds were still rather raw and fresh, although they had recently started to heal over. Given a little more time, and they would probably scar over. And even though they would have closed and he would be patched up, he would never quite be able to leave her behind him completely; there would always be a small part of him that was reserved only for her.

The rest of himself, he could give to Seth, and he would give him everything that he was.

Seeming to sense that this was a sensitive topic, Seth quickly back-pedalled, "You don't have to talk about if you don't want to. I won't mention it again."

At that, Marcus shook his head, clearing his thoughts of the dark turn which they'd taken, "No. It's not your fault…" He took a deep breath, calming himself so that he wouldn't sound as though he was falling to pieces at that moment, "Would it be too much to ask for some time before I answer that?"

Seth smiled reassuringly and nodded, "Take all the time you need. I can wait to hear whatever it is that you need to say."

There were times that Marcus appreciated the kindness which Seth showed to everyone. Although, it only made him feel that much more guilty that he wasn't able to answer such an innocent question honestly. But hearts could take time to heal, and so he had to be grateful that Seth was able to give him such a courtesy, even if it meant waiting for years.

Marcus hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

The sitting room had been originally her idea, but Marcus had liked the idea and decided to keep it, even after her death. Even though he used the room frequently, her scent still clung weakly to a few things, such as the pale rose curtains on the windows and in the cream colored antique furniture which was arranged around the huge fireplace. Marcus wasn't sure why, but he loved fireplaces, even if they couldn't warm him.

But then again, Seth's hand was still in his just as it had been for the entire tour, and Marcus knew that if he were to pull his hand away, it would be warm. That was another thing that set him apart from everyone else; it had been centuries since Marcus had last felt such warmth, and he savoured it.

If Seth noticed the faint unfamiliar smell in the room which was the same as the one that still clung to the bed he'd woken up in, he made no comment on the matter. For that, Marcus was relieved.

The large coffee table at the center of the room right in front of the fire place had a large glass top, and was itself made of a decorative, aged golden painted metal. Like much of the motifs in his wing, the support beams and the legs were reminiscent of crawling vines, which was reflected in the matching end tables on either side of the huge antique couch which faced the fireplace.

Two matching arm chairs were on either side of the couch, placed closer to the fireplace. The one on the left looked a bit more worn then the other – it was Marcus' favourite – and there was an open book of more modern poems lying open over the arm of it. A light cream rug had been rolled out along the centre of the room, and behind the couch was a long, low table with two silver candelabras arranged on either end, and with a spectacularly beautiful painted vase at its centre.

Seth thought it could use some flowers, just like the ones on the tables in the corners of the room. He'd have to ask Heidi which kinds would look best in the room. She was better at that sort of thing then he was, but flowers would need to be replaced regularly, so he'd need to know what to look for.

The back wall of the sitting room had been entirely replaced with glass, something which reminded Seth of the Cullens' home back in Forks. Two large, ornate French doors open onto the courtyard and had a very lovely view of it.

Someone had hung large pale rose curtains over the wall of glass, which Seth could tell could be closed over the windows in order to give the room a bit of privacy and also to ward off the bright light which filtered into the room.

The light reminded Seth that even in his three years of having spent a lot of time with vampires, he had never seen one of them in the sunlight. The Cullens usually arranged it so that their hunting trips would always fall on days where the sun would shine in Forks, and Jacob was incredibly tight-lipped about the entire thing, despite the fact that Seth knew that he knew.

It was something that had been nagging him for a long time. Vampires seemed to be intensely secretive about what happened when they stepped out into the sun, but Seth knew that it couldn't hurt them since he did know that both the Cullens and the Volturi went about their business in the light. Heidi had talked about how they needed to keep themselves completely covered during sunny days to prevent people from figuring out what they were.

Before he could think better of it, the question tumbled out of his mouth.

"What happens when you go into the sunlight?"

Marcus whipped around to face Seth, dislodging their entwined hands, surprised at the question. He would have thought – didn't Seth already know?

"You… you have never…?"

Seth's face had colored a little when he'd realized that he'd spoken out loud, but at Marcus' shock he couldn't help but roll his eyes and cross his arms at the ancient vampire. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't already know. The Cullens were… they were very secretive about it."

That was something Marcus could understand. No one exactly flaunted their vampiric nature, and showing what happened in the sunlight… well, even he had to admit that it was just a little embarrassing. But then again, would it hurt to share it with Seth?

He decided that it wouldn't.

"Would you like to see?" And just like before, Marcus could practically feel the phantom heartbeat in his chest, pounding away wildly in his chest at letting this young man see him at what could his potentially most vulnerable moment, the time when even the slight vestiges of humanity which all of them still clung to fell away and revealed what they were to the world.

To put it lightly, it scared him, and yet, it didn't scare him enough to make him want to refuse. Seth would be living with him, in the same wing of the palace, from then on, he did deserve to know. Especially if Marcus got his way in what he wanted from the young man.

The look which Seth gave him only cemented his decision. Seth's entire face lit up with the brightest smile that Marcus had seen yet, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. There wasn't a single trace of fear in his face or in his smell.

"Yeah, I'd like that." He paused then, and asked, "Are you sure?"

"If you want to see it, then I have no objections."

At that, Seth's smile softened, "I don't want to force you to do anything that you're not comfortable with. If you want to share this with me, then yes, I'd like to see."

"Then I would like nothing more then to show you."

Taking a deep unnecessary breath to steady himself, Marcus stepped away from Seth and safety of the shadowed side of the room. It was rare for Marcus to feel fear, even lately, but the fear that he was experiencing right then was sharp and painful.

Dark whispers in the back of his mind spoke of rejection.

The sun was warm on his cold skin as he took the last step into the light which filtered in through the windows. But the warmth couldn't compare to what Seth provided him. Marcus felt nervous and hadn't realized that he'd closed his eyes until he heard the soft gasp from the young man when he revealed his true form in the light.

Opening them, Marcus could see that Seth had clapped his hand over his mouth in shock and was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You're… beautiful."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Am I evil? Yes, yes I am. I'm leaving you all with another cliff-hanger like this, to await next week's update. Also, I'm really sorry about the delay in uploading this chapter; it wasn't my fault, I've been trying to update since FRIDAY but was being a fucktard and wouldn't let me upload the document at all, and that's what caused the delay, my apologies.

I also felt that it would be appropriate to tell you all that I have to take my laptop in to be fixed; the brightness is seriously fucked up, and it's pissing me off and making updating and just working on it a pain in the ass. As of now, I don't know whether or not this will effect my updating schedule – my dad believes the problem is the fault of a loose wire and that's not difficult to fix. I'm hoping to get it fixed quickly and easily, but it might not work out that way. I'll transfer all of my fanfiction onto my USB stick, so I should still be able to update.

**To all of you who favorite or alert without leaving a review, I do get email alerts telling me that you are doing this. Please, please, PLEASE leave me a review. I am not picky about what you leave, a simple 'I like it' or 'Nice' is really all I'd like. I just want SOME indicator as to WHY you chose to favorite or alert. You can do all of that at the same time too. So please, leave me a review if you are enjoying this and if you decide to favorite or alert it, I'm asking this, please.**

**If this practice continues, then I may start having to send out PMs to the people who do this asking WHY you favorited or alerted my work.**

**Thank you, and sorry about the rant.**

**Twilight.**


	10. X Into the Light

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** X. Into the Light  
**Prompt:** 002. your choice - new  
**Words:** 2964 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**X. Into the Light**

After Seth spoke, a silence fell over the room. The young wolf was still having some troubles focusing his thoughts enough to get out anything coherent, much less something which sounded halfway intelligent. He just wasn't sure what to say…

Marcus, on the other hand, had frowned when Seth had let slip those two words. Beautiful? Him? He just couldn't bring himself to believe that someone had actually called him that, because no one ever had, not even she had spoken those words before. He wasn't sure if he could believe them, whether or not they were true, because he just couldn't consider the possibility that he was, as Seth had said, _**beautiful.**_

"I…" Seth swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts. When Marcus moved to step out of the light, a dark look on his face, Seth automatically assumed that he'd said the wrong thing and he quickly moved to the vampire's side.

Taking Marcus' hand in both of his, Seth clasped it tightly and peered up into his eyes, hoping that nothing in his own would give away any of the confused feelings that were rushing through him right at that moment.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to –"

"You – you really believe that?" Marcus was still in shock, but when he looked into Seth's honest eyes, their bright hazel staring into his own dark red ones. He could see the worry in them, and knew suddenly that Seth thought he was rejecting him, that Seth believed he was the one at fault for his reaction.

Seth blinked, confused, "Yeah, I do."

Warm fingers tightly clenched the cold hand, and Marcus looked down at them, marvelling at how different they were. Whereas he was cold and dead, Seth was warmth and life. It was a stark contrast, but one that caused his heart to swell in his chest. Whatever it was about Seth – and he knew what he wanted from the young man and what he felt – that made Marcus feel alive again, it was something soothing and relaxing. But still...

_Do I really deserve you? Why does it feel like you were meant to be mine?_

His free hand rose of its own volition, fingers brushing across Seth's cheek for a moment before cupping it in a more substantial touch. Marcus leaned in a bit, unaware that he had done so.

For a few moments, Seth was absolutely sure that Marcus was going to kiss him and he wasn't sure whether or not he could cope with that. In fact, he wasn't too sure what he thought of the whole thing, but one thing was for sure.

He knew that he wouldn't regret it.

But then Marcus seemed to snap back to himself and he just smiled softly at the young wolf, letting his eyes flutter closed. He let out a soft exhalation of breath, still throwing prisms of light on the walls and on Seth's face.

The blast of cool breath across his face took Seth by surprise. It was a sweet smell, not sickly sweet, but a rich kind that kept one coming back for another whiff again and again. It was nearly enough to knock Seth off his feet, but he was able to stay on his feet, but he did feel a little bit dazed from the experience.

It was just a lot to take in.

For one, Marcus in the light was... well it was nothing like what he'd imagined. Seth had been thinking that it would be something drastically crazy, like he'd suddenly start looking like a zombie or something like that, but this... this was the complete opposite of what he'd thought. For one, it was beautiful.

The vampire's skin sparkled as though it was embedded with thousands of crystals which were reflecting the light which shone in through the window. It threw the light into thousands of tiny rainbows on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Thinking over it, Seth could get used to the sight of it.

"It's not what I expected, but I can get used to it," Seth replied evenly and with a small smile. "And I believe in what I said, otherwise I wouldn't have said it."

Marcus was pleasantly surprised, but he returned Seth's smile with one of his own. It was most likely the strangest reaction he'd ever gotten. "Thank you... you don't know how much this means to me."

Seth shook his head a little, pulling away from the vampire to go and flop down on the couch, he spoke over his shoulder, "It's not a bad thing that you sparkle in the sun. Oh god, that really doesn't sound right."

"I suppose it isn't exactly a very masculine description, but I suppose that it is better than death or burning in the sun."

"Ha! That's true."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"Can I take you up on that offer of going into Volterra with me tomorrow?" Seth ventured as he watched Alec pick up the tray which held the empty dishes of what had been his dinner and left the two of them alone in Marcus' sitting room.

Marcus frowned, "Heidi should have returned by tomorrow evening, so yes, I think that we should be fine. If that is what you would like."

The vampire wouldn't deny that he was a little afraid of spending so much time with Seth when he was as thirsty as he was. He knew that Seth had a distinctive smell – one which Marcus would be able to recognize anywhere – and while it wasn't a constant temptation to him, it was a smell that he knew he wouldn't be able to resist it if it was ever spilled.

To put it simply, he loved how Seth smelled.

"You need some more modern stuff in the library," Seth commented. "I've got nothing against the classics or older books, but some variety would be nice."

The two of them had settled down on the couch in the sitting room, relatively close together, with a fire lit in the fireplace in front of them which Marcus had started when the sun had started to slip behind the far part of the Volturi palace, which plunged a blood red color across the room. However, the two of them were tucked far enough away from the window that Marcus no longer sparkled in the light which entered the room.

Alec had removed the ties from the curtains, allowing them to fall across the huge wall of glass, cutting off the ends and framing the courtyard in pale rose.

"Is there anything in particular that you would like?" Marcus knew that any books Seth wanted would have to be ordered in since the two small bookstores in Volterra only stocked ones that were in Italian.

"I'm not really sure; I'd just like to look around and see what the selection's like," Seth replied, his tone low and quiet and full of pain when he continued. "I had to leave all of my books at home when I came here, so I'd like to get as many of them as I can. Or at least the ones that I liked the most."

Marcus mulled over that bit of information for a little before speaking, "All of the books that will be in stock will be in Italian; a special order will have to be put in in order for them to be in English."

"I figured that something would have to be done," Seth muttered with a shrug. "That's not going to cost too much, is it? I really don't like the idea of you dropping a fortune on me."

"Heidi did that already, why are you so stubborn about letting me do the same? And I highly doubt that it would be quite as much as what she spent on you." Marcus shifted a little in his seat on the couch, one arm stretching across the back of it as he watched the light of the fire flicker on Seth's features; bringing a warmth to them that made the young man seem so alive and soft.

Seth shrugged, and he blushed just a little, "I've never liked the fact that all of my vampire friends love to splurge on me. Alice would make a huge deal out of my birthday or Christmas... I just learned to never ask about the price tag."

For a few moments, a silence fell before Seth continued, "It's actually really hard for me to believe that I'll be nineteen in just a few months... I keep expecting that I'll wake up and none of this will have happened."

Marcus felt his heart sting for a moment at that; he couldn't imagine not meeting Seth. His entire future became uncertain and a desolate, empty place without the young man. But he knew that if he never had met Seth, then he would have continued on his path of being the most apathetic being in the entire world; he wouldn't have cared for anything going on around him, not even the murders.

It would have just been another tiny, insignificant blip on his radar.

But he chose not to say anything, because it would seem heartless and selfish of him to tell Seth just how glad he was that the wolf was in his life now.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Alec watched the young wolf sleep. He couldn't find anything in the innocent countenance of the wolf that gave him any indication at all of what it was that drew Marcus to him so; that made the ancient vampire so passionate about keeping him happy and safe. He'd never seen such dedication in any of his kind before – the Cullens and mated couples not included – but he didn't really believe that that sort of relationship could exist, at least, not between Marcus and Seth.

Their kinds were, after all, supposedly hated mortal enemies. And yet, here Marcus was willing to risk his position in the Volturi's heart of power in order to keep a young man – a shape-shifter no less – safe and protected from others of his kind. To Alec, it didn't make any sense.

Alec liked his logic, he liked his reasoning. It was all that kept him sane in his world.

He didn't get to have the security which came with having a mate. But then, many of the Volturi guard would never get to have that honor because of how protective and possessive Aro could become of his 'prizes'. That meant that whatever little chance he had of finding that one special person was destroyed almost completely. It was slim to none that he would find them.

But then again, not even Chelsea could tie him to Volturi if his mate was destroyed by them. After all, the connection between mates ran deep and couldn't be altered by any gift that any vampire possessed.

But... whatever was happening between Marcus and Seth, he didn't think that it was simple infatuation or curiosity.

After all, he knew that Marcus had lost another vampire – a beautiful female – who he had loved deeply to the intrigues of Volturi politics. However, he could deduce from what little he did know about the two of them was that they hadn't been mates because if they had, then Marcus wouldn't still be with the Volturi. Hell, he wouldn't even still _**exist**_.

So Alec watched as Seth slept, making note of every slight change in his expression, every move he made as he slept as tried to make sense of whatever it was that was happening between the two of them.

He wasn't so sure that he could believe that they were mates; that they were just destined to be.

But he respected Marcus; he was the only one who had ever treated Alec as a real person and not as just a new pet, a new toy. He had never been Aro's favourite; that was a position which belonged to Jane alone, and she wouldn't hesitate to destroy him if he ever took that away from her.

Sometimes he believed that his sister really was blind. She was so desperate for love and attention, someone who would appreciate her and her sadistic pleasures, than she would be happy. Her devotion to Aro was because of their shared love of inflicting pain and suffering on others, manipulating them for her own selfish enjoyment.

And when she'd found Aro, someone who believed she was a perfect little doll, someone to be treasured and revered, the power of the position and all that position entailed had gone straight to her head. He and his sister had been close, yes, but that didn't mean that he approved of any of the choices or decisions that she made in their life – if one could call it that – with the Volturi.

"_You and I have chosen different paths. You would follow Aro to the ends of the world and back, and I would sooner desire his destruction. But I would do what you would do for Aro for Marcus. Whatever he asks of me, I will do it. Without question."_

Jane hadn't been pleased with his choice, but he'd made it and he would live with the consequences of it. There was no way that he would betray Marcus, not when he was entrusted with something so precious to the ancient vampire; because he knew that Seth was special, someone who needed to be protected and watched over, even if he didn't like it.

The sleeping youth had done something which no one before him had been able to do; he'd brought life back into Marcus. He had breathed life into a soul that had been empty before, and then given that shell of a man a sense of purpose once again. Seth was more than just a shifter who had been traded to the Volturi in exchange for the safety of his people and more, he was Marcus'. There would never be any debate on that.

He might not have been at first, but when Marcus had first laid eyes on the young man, then that's when the claim had been laid. Neither of them might have known it then, but Alec had seen all the warning signs, all of the signals. That was how he could now draw the conclusion.

If Aro were ever to harm Seth, then he would drive a wedge between himself, the Volturi, and Marcus that would never be repaired. Not even Chelsea's gift would be able to repair the damage that would be done by that harm.

Which put killing Seth forever out of Aro's reach, because if the young wolf was to ever die by Aro's hand or another of the Volturi on his orders, then Marcus would die too and nothing would be able to hold the ancient vampire to existence.

"Tsk." Alec shook his head, clearing it of that train of thought even though he could have devoted the entire night to it if he wanted to. But it had been depressing him since for so long he'd been longing for the very same thing which Marcus now possessed, and that wasn't good. When he was depressed, he was irritable, and that wouldn't go over too well with the young man.

So he instead turned his thoughts to the murders which were now plaguing the Italian countryside around Volterra.

Alec shared Marcus' belief that this wasn't just a newborn who had gotten away from their sire since if it was, then there should have been more attacks, more murders. Even if the few vampires in Italy chose targets close to Volterra, they knew better then to make them so discriminate, and even when they were as discreet as possible, the Volturi always knew that they were in the area.

Whoever was involved with this mess had to be someone more experienced with the upper echelons of the vampire hierarchy. They also had to have just come here from somewhere else, because all intelligence which Alec had and knew of stated that there weren't any mature vampires operating in the nearby area.

_So whoever is doing all of this senseless killing is a foreigner... and they're doing it to gain our attention._ Alec frowned, because that last bit didn't make sense.

No one sought out the Volturi. And _**no one**_ provoked them. It was that simple and that was how things had been for centuries since they had usurped the power of the ruling class from the Romanians...

Marcus had joined them shortly before that, and he had been the key to their undoing. He had revealed all of their secrets, their plans, everything, to them which had been what guaranteed the Volturi their swift victory over them. Marcus had once been a member of the Romanian coven, but he never talked about his time spent with them; all of the information which had been gleaned from him had come from Aro's gift.

_The Romanian coven._

The Romanians had been the ones who had exposed their world to humans, had helped to shape the myths which followed. They'd never hid what they were from their mortal subjects, and there were many who were dazzled by that, just as how there were many who were horrified at their inhumane treatment of others – including other vampires. But they had possessed a certain level of refinery which had to be respected.

No one might have liked them, but the Romanians were definitely to be feared and respected.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Okay, so I have to be the bearer of more bad news in that my wireless died this week, which has left me with no internet access on my laptop. Now, my dad has said that he would set up the wireless this weekend, but I can't actually be sure if he will actually do it and I want you guys to be prepared just in case this interferes with my fic-posting. I apologize.

As always, review please! And remember: If you decide to favorite or alert this story, please leave me a review. Thank you!

OH. **Just so you are all aware, several of my stories have been nominated at The Indie TwiFic Awards, including this fic. So go check it out and when the time for voting comes along, I hope that you'll all support me as best you can!**

Twilight.**  
**


	11. XI Communications Breakdown

**Title:** Complexity**  
Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
Part:** XI. Communications Breakdown**  
Prompt:** 014. dark**  
Words: **3697 words**  
Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XI. Communications Breakdown**

Seth had absolutely no idea why Alec was leaning against the door frame of the room when he woke up, but he had to assume that Marcus had something to do with it. It was really awkward to say the least, because Seth just knew that Alec had been watching him sleep, and he'd been doing it for a while.

"You're awake." Alec didn't move when he spoke, he just stayed where he was, perfectly still with the only movement being the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"What time is it?" Seth stretched his arms above his head, feeling all of the muscles tense up and then relax as he did so. He noticed that, again, he'd been put to bed fully dressed in the same thing that he'd been wearing for the past two days since he hadn't changed after he'd woken up the day before. Well, at least he didn't smell.

"It's just a little past two in the afternoon." Alec unfolded his arms from across his chest, his posture relaxing just a bit. "Do you want something to eat? You'll be safe here as long as you don't wander off."

"Uh yeah, that's fine." He watched the vampire nod once before disappearing out the doors which closed behind him with a soft thud.

Left by himself, Seth made his way into the closet to find something clean to wear before he went into the bathroom to take a shower and take care of his other hygienic needs. He still didn't really understand why vampires really had a need for completely furbished bathrooms because they didn't need to go through any of the same rituals he did.

Hell, they didn't use the damn toilet, so why have one?

Then again, Seth wasn't about to complain since having one was a big convenience to him since he actually _**needed**_ to use one. He still felt weird about being the only real living and breathing person in the entire Volturi palace, but it was something that he was slowly getting used to.

He knew that there were humans who worked for the Volturi in the city itself, but he hadn't gotten to meet them yet. Several of the underground tunnels that led out from the cellar went into the city and connected with its sewer systems which allowed the Volturi to move from the palace into the city without being seen by human eyes. He hadn't used any of them and he doubted that he ever would.

Trying to find something that would either compliment Marcus' usual ensemble or something that looked nice and wouldn't stand out next to him, Seth was pleasantly surprised to find that the original outfit which Alice had given him was clean and hanging in the closet.

_Ah, what the hell, why not?_

Grabbing the outfit from its place on the hangers, Seth trudged his way into the bathroom; leaving his clothes lying on the sink, before he stripped. He chucked his clothes into the hamper which was surprisingly there and also filled just a bit with Marcus' clothes, and headed straight for the shower.

In about twenty minutes, Seth was cleaned up and ready for the day. When he emerged back into the bedroom, he found that Alec had returned and had once again taken up his position at the door. He'd left Seth's meal tray on the edge of the bureau.

Alec answered Seth's unasked question, "Marcus asked me to watch over you while he was away dealing with some details about those murders. He did promise that he would return just before sunset."

_Great, so now I've got my own personal guard detail?_ "That's really not–"

"You don't know my sister," Alec cut him off. "She's smart in addition to how sadistic she is; I know that she won't stop at anything to get her revenge since she feels that you wronged her."

"How–?"

This really wasn't how Alec had wanted to spend his afternoon, but since the young man was genuinely confused and it would probably be easier to guard him if he was aware of all the risks there were if he was left to his own devices, Alec chose to explain. Humans – even shifters – were sometimes so _**difficult**_.

"You have probably realized by now that Jane _**worships**_," he spat the word out, "the very ground which Aro walks on and she will always follow his instructions no matter what obstacles may come up. Despite Marcus' intervention last night, she is still determined to see to that you're punished for a perceived wrong against her 'master'."

Seth stared at Alec in shock. For one thing, it was the most that Seth had ever heard the smaller vampire say, and he also didn't speak at all like he'd expected. Alec had the slightest tinges of what could have been considered a French accent, but he spoke a bit more like someone who was probably twice his age – figuratively speaking of course since Alec was much, much older then Seth was.

"You and her really aren't alike."

"We have different personalities. Our only common feature is that both of us possess rather unique and _**invaluable**_ gifts which caught Aro's attention." Alec shrugged, "Unlike my sister, I have never been drawn very strongly to power."

Uncertainty washed through Seth. He really had no idea of how to deal with Alec, but he was also curious about the young vampire too because he hadn't seemed unfriendly when Seth had been first introduced to him, but he hadn't acted friendly either. Alec had been completely indifferent to Seth since his arrival, and now he wanted to know what had sparked this almost complete one-eighty.

"Okay, so I get that Marcus asked you to play bodyguard –"

"– I do not –"

"– so I want to know why you're obeying him. I thought that Aro was your 'master', like your sister."

At that, Alec's eyes flashed dangerously, "I would never call such a being my 'master'. I respect Marcus. He, at least, maintains a veil of humanity; if he could live any way which he chose, then this would never be his first choice. He and I are alike in that we both hold a respect for human life and do not bother to waste it." _And he and I were searching for the same thing for a long time. He only found it first._

Throwing his hands up into a placating gesture, "Sorry, I didn't –"

"No. I can understand that you're curious." Alec kept cutting Seth off, and it would have normally annoyed the young shifter, but since he was so unused to this more talkative side of him, he was willing to deal with it. He needed to feel Alec out so he knew what lines there were and which ones not to cross.

"Well, still, sorry about that."

"None of us were given a choice," Alec murmured. "Some of us might not admit it – and I doubt that Marcus will ever tell you – but we were only turned without any sort of consent and with no kind intent. Aro is and always will almost mindlessly go after something which he wants; if you have something he wants or finds anything, then he will get it. It's only a matter of time until he does."

"He's not exactly very..." Seth couldn't find the right word.

"I'm quite sure that Heidi has already given you some very colorful nicknames for Aro. But as much as any of us may hate him, we cannot leave. All of us are too valuable to him and that is why he will not ever let us go."

_I'm just as tightly bound, if not more._ "I know that..."

Alec leaned back against the door, blowing a few of his stray bangs off his face, "It's unfortunate, but I suppose that after Aro learned of your kind's existence, it was too much of a temptation for him to leave empty handed."

"He gave Sam an ultimatum." Thinking back to that night over two months ago, Seth still wasn't over the hurt which leaving his home behind. But once he opened his mouth, he just couldn't stop it; it felt good to get this off of his chest, even if it was to Alec.

"That sounds like Aro; sweet-talking people into agreeing to his terms and conditions."

"Yeah... he basically told Sam that unless one of us left with them, that he'd kill everyone who knew about us and about vampires... and since... since Sam couldn't let them do that, he agreed. It was the only option he had."

Alec frowned. He knew that it would have been impossible for Aro to effectively 'clean-up' the La Push population of any and all who knew of vampires. For one, they didn't quite understand how the shifters operated, how they bred, nothing. That would mean that they would have no idea of whether or not more of them would be born in the years after they left and if those would then figure out what it was that they were.

Too many what ifs were involved in such a situation, and Alec knew that Aro was too smart to not have known all of them. Which meant that Aro had been bluffing.

And quite suddenly Alec knew that whatever he had just realized, he couldn't let Seth know. It would destroy him and whatever little hope he'd been clinging to, to keep himself alive and floating, and that would drag Marcus down too. The two of them were inexorably bound, and what hurt one would hurt the other.

"I... see." Deciding quickly that this was dangerous territory to stay in, Alec changed the subject as quickly and trying to be as unobvious at it as he could be. "Well, as I said, Marcus will probably not return until late this evening... is there anything you would like to do in the meantime?"

Seth shrugged, shuffling over and sitting down on the edge of the bed, "Not really."

_Great_, Alec grumbled mentally, _this is going to be much more difficult then I thought. There is a reason for why I do not like humans very much; they're so..._

"We can't stay here the entire night," Alec muttered. "Marcus would think that I'm not being very talkative."

At that, Seth raised an eyebrow, "You're probably the most talkative vampire I've met thus far. Heidi and Marcus not included."

"Actually, I'm surprised that Marcus is as... verbal with you as he is," Alec's face wrinkled into a frown, revealing just how mystifying he thought the ancient vampire's behavior was. "I have been with him for longer then Heidi has been with the Volturi. I have never seen him act like this."

Quickly, Seth looked down at his hands which were clenched in his lap, "Yeah... Heidi mentioned that to me."

"She did, did she." Alec settled into quiet contemplation. Well, he did need some way to distract Seth... "He's been acting much more – well, I want to say _**alive**_ but I don't think that is what I'm looking for – personable, since you arrived here."

"What was he like before?" Having nothing to compare it to, Seth was wondering how Marcus had been before he'd met him; he was... also curious about why Marcus acted the way he did around Seth, especially since he'd been acting one way for so many years and only now had begun to change. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

"You want to know?"

Seth nodded.

"Well, you would have to ask him if you want details on his past... but as for what Marcus was like before, he was the complete opposite of how he is now."

Alec sighed, and took an unneeded deep breath. He shifted just a little, moving farther into the room. He wasn't too sure about whether or not he should go and sit beside Seth, but decided against it. Instead, he just moved to a more comfortable position against the door frame, crossing his arms again as he did so.

"I suppose that in modern terms, he would be classified as having acted like a 'zombie'. But mostly I just thought of him as being extremely apathetic and uncaring towards the world and its goings on. He really was just drifting from day to day, not really noticing that time was changing or moving on without him.

"Well, that's not to say that he was always that way," Alec clarified. "There was a time when he was much happier, but something changed. I wasn't a member of the Volturi at that time, but I do know from the whispers of the older members that he had changed drastically. And now, he's changed again..."

Here, Alec looked up in one of those blindingly fast movements that his kind was so famous for, his eyes focused on Seth and there was an intensity in the almost black eyes which made Seth tremble just a little. Then he spoke in a low and quiet voice which carried across the room.

"Because of you."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Alec left a few minutes before Marcus returned, and Seth hadn't moved from the bed once since the young vampire had spoken those three years. All he'd done was move so that he was curled up on the side of the bed with his knees drawn to his chest.

When he heard the door creak open, he moved to sit up and took a deep breath to calm his now raging heart beat. He straightened out his clothes and looked over as Marcus stepped into the room.

The vampire's face was twisted into an almost murderous, dark look. He wasn't looking at Seth – or anything in the room – but his attention was focused on a newspaper which he held in his hands. He walked over to about the center of the room before he stopped, his hands trembling as they clutched the paper.

His own face creasing into a frown, Seth rose from his seat on the bed and made his way quickly to Marcus' side; he placed a hand on the ancient vampire forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze, "Marcus?"

That seemed to shock him out of whatever funk he'd been in, because the dark look vanished from his face and he turned slightly startled eyes to Seth.

Seeing that the vampire was out of it, Seth looked to the newspaper; wondering what new development had happened.

_Due Morti in Misteriosi Omicidi._

"Two more were killed." Marcus' voice broke the silence; it was rough and tense, and the anger in it was almost tangible.

It made Seth wince just a little to hear the ancient vampire – who was usually so calm and had a light tone to – sound so angry; whatever it was about this case, he was fast finding it to be very personal to him.

"Were they –"

"They're much closer then the ones before," Marcus replied, inhaling sharply. "There can't be much of a mistake now; whoever it is, Volterra will fall within their path. I cannot say whether or not they will hunt within the city, but those outside of its protection are at a continued risk."

_And if they do come within the city, then I don't want you there. I will not allow you to be put in danger._

"Any ideas about who's behind all of this?" Seth asked in a soft, almost weak, voice.

Marcus shook his head, "Aro still wants to believe that this is just a newborn who got away from their sire, but now even Caius is unsure about that."

"You still think it's someone who wants your attention?"

"Now I'm sure of it. Whoever this is... they're trying to send us a message."

"And what would that be?"

"We're coming."

Seth's knees began to tremble, and his hand automatically began to tighten on Marcus'. He was scared, and he wasn't too sure why; it was probably because he didn't like the idea of people dying for no other reason other then to gain the attention of the Volturi. For one, it seemed like a very stupid idea because of just how powerful the Volturi guard alone was; and that didn't take into account the leaders.

Whoever it was had to be someone smart, someone powerful and old. It had to be either someone who had past dealings with the Volturi, or someone who was ancient enough to know how to manipulate them.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Marcus pulled him into his arms, wrapping them tightly around the wolf and pulling him close to his chest. One of his hands tangled in Seth's hair, stroking it comfortingly, and the other came to rest at the small of his back. The hand in Seth's hair had pressed his face gently into the ancient vampire's neck, and his scent filled the young man's nostrils.

It was comforting, and Seth inhaled the scent deeply, willing himself to relax and calm down. He sagged against the vampire just a little, his own arms coming up to steady himself.

"Are you alright Seth?" Marcus' voice was soft; he didn't want to frighten the young man in his arms.

A weak nod was his only response, followed by Seth taking several long, deep breaths; pacing them with Marcus' never changing breathing. He wasn't unnerved at all by the lack of a heart beat in the vampire's chest, nor the chill that permeated through the fabric which covered it. Instead, he found it very comforting and being right there in Marcus' arms felt... natural, completely so.

"Did you –"

"Marcus, can I ask you something?"

The vampire frowned in confusion, and he was unwilling to let Seth go at that point, and instead let his arms tighten around the wolf before answering, "Yes, anything."

"Are there any other vampire covens out there? Ones that are really old?" Seth mumbled out his question into the collar of Marcus' shirt. He moved just a little closer, feeling unbelievably safe in the other's arms.

Marcus froze at that, his mind racing, "One that I can think of. What brought this on?"

Saying nothing, Seth moved even closer, tightening his own arms around Marcus and pulling the vampire closer; if that was at all possible. Marcus had just confirmed part of what his greatest fear was.

Now starting to worry more then he had been before, Marcus quickly and easily scooped Seth up into his arms – bridal style – startling the wolf who's arms he dislodged when he picked him up. To stead himself, Seth wrapped his arms tightly around his neck in order to steady himself.

He was at the bed in a split second, settling the young man down on the covers. Marcus sat down beside him and took Seth's hands in both of his and squeezing them in comfort; he gave the young wolf a stern look.

"Tell me why you asked that." Seeing Seth wince at how forceful he sounded, Marcus quickly added, "Please, Seth. Tell me."

Taking a deep breath, Seth murmured, "Because I think that might be who's behind all of these killings. I don't think that anyone else would be so stupid as to go against the Volturi and think that they could get away with it."

"I don't –"

Seth shook his head violently, leaning a little closer to Marcus, "An ancient coven would have the power, I think, to feel comfortable about going after the Volturi – provoking them – and trying to grab your attention like this. Whoever this is is old and powerful. That's why I think that it might be another ancient coven."

"I hope that you're wrong," Marcus murmured finally. "Because I don't want to believe that the Romanians are behind all of this."

That made Seth frown, "The Romanians?"

Well, he hadn't expected that. _I would have thought that an ancient coven – one just as old as the Volturi – would be from Asia or Africa, not from Europe._

"They were the reigning vampire coven when Aro was first turned," Marcus continued, in a soft and distant voice that sounded nothing like his usual tone or the angry one which he'd had earlier. "The Volturi usurped control from them once Aro was confident in his own power and the strength of his coven."

"What do you know about the Romanians?" Seth managed to pull one of his hands from Marcus', and hesitantly reached out, letting his fingers trail across the vampire's pale cheek. He felt his own cheeks warm up when Marcus reached up and pressed his palm to his cheek. "Marcus?"

"That... that is difficult for me to speak of." Marcus was trembling just a little now, and his voice sounded broken. His hands around Seth's were surprisingly gentle, though, and he let his eyes drift closed as he moved just a little closer to the young man.

"If you don't want to –"

Marcus shook his head, "If you're right – and I pray that you aren't – then you need to know about them and my... _**past history**_ with them."

Patiently, Seth waited for Marcus to continue, and his fingers unconsciously stroked the vampire's hand. If Marcus wanted to share this with him, then he could wait and let him tell him on his own time, no matter how long it took him.

Finally, Marcus took a deep, calming breath, and spoke.

"The Romanian coven was where I was originally from. Their leader was my sire."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Good news everyone! I have my wireless back! This means regular updates are going to happen again! *claps joyfully* I hope that you're all looking forward to that, and I'm very sorry about the late update for this, but I was having a few problems with transferring my work from my laptop onto my desktop. My deepest apologies, I'll try to make it up for you.

Hm, out of curiosity, do you guys want to hazard any guesses for what other pairings might be included in this fic? I have one more surprise pairing coming up, so whoever guesses it correctly will get a fic. Sound good?

As always, review if you liked, and review if you favorite or alert; thank you!

Twilight.


	12. XII What's Left Behind

**Title:** Complexity**  
Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
Part:** XII. What's Left Behind**  
Words: **2121 words**  
Prompt:** 009. past**  
Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XII. What's Left Behind**

"_The leader of the Romanian coven was my sire."_

The year that Marcus turned twenty-eight was the year that his entire life was turned upside down and torn apart violently. It was the year where he lost everything. It was the year his life ended.

It had started well, he'd been given a job – which was something that he desperately needed – and he wasn't too picky about who his employers were. Given where he lived, he wasn't too surprised that the coven of vampires who were the ruling class had elected to choose him as their librarian and translator. For one, not many people had need of someone with his particular skill set since they either couldn't afford it, or it wasn't necessary at all to their lifestyle.

However, the Romanian coven were known to be a little eccentric at times, and they were also the most cultured individuals probably within the entire land. In a way, Marcus was relieved that he would be working for them. That was because they hadn't made any stipulations or rolled up their nose at his sickly younger sister.

Katia was young at the delicate age of fifteen. Their mother had succumbed to complications from her difficult birth only a few days after, and that had left her in the care of her older brother and a very distant father. She'd nearly been married off because their father couldn't be bothered to look after her, but when the knowledge that she wasn't of the strongest constitution had been made known to the man who had intended to marry her, the marriage had been called off.

Their father hadn't been too pleased about that, but then illness had claimed him a few months later, leaving the two youngster alone.

Marcus had done everything he could to make sure that his sister was as well taken care of as possible, and he'd often relied on the good natures of those in their home village to look after her when he was dedicated to his language studies alongside the priests who called the local churches home. Sometimes it was difficult to get his hands on certain manuscripts, but since many of the churches had the vampire coven as patrons, it wasn't often that they were lacking in materials.

Later, Marcus wondered whether or not they'd been grooming him for the day which they'd pluck him from his home in the world of humans and drop him – and Katia – right into the midst of theirs.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"Brother." Katia was sitting in her bed in his study, blankets pulled up around her waist to ward off the evening chill since she was only in a light night shift. "Will you write me? Will you be able to visit?"

He smiled at his sister as he set aside his quill and paper onto which he'd been translating some poetry for her to read on the nights when he was gone, "That I cannot answer Katia, we will have to see how things go, but I hope that I will be able to come and visit you."

_She is the only family I have left; the only one left who I care about._

"But if you cannot, then you will write me? Surely they would allow you that much." Her delicate and pale face was turned into a frown, and it caused Marcus' heart to ache to see her look so unhappy. It didn't match well with the dark circles under eyes; she hadn't slept properly in days.

"I am sure that I will be able to give you that." He had no plans to cut off all ties to his sister; she needed him, desperately so. "But while I am gone, you will behave and help out Gryta while I am away?"

She smiled wanly back at him, "Of course I will, but I fear that I will not be of much help to her."

That much was true, but it wasn't a topic that either sibling was willing to broach. Katia's weak constitution meant that she fell ill easily, and she'd been ill when they'd left their small village for the city-town which Marcus' new employers called 'home'. The move hadn't been easy, and her health had steadily deteriorated over the journey. Gryta wasn't too confident that Katia would live past the year's mark. It just wasn't something which Marcus wanted to think about; Katia had been in his life since almost as far back as he could remember, and he loved her dearly.

"Well, I think that Gryta will be able to find something that you can do." Marcus gave his sister a smile, and turned away from his work completely. "Perhaps you can do some of that embroidery you are so talented at; you do have the best work that I have ever laid eyes on."

"Sometimes Marcus, I think you only say these things to keep my spirits up," she turned away from him and stared out the window into the darkness of the night. "But I still enjoy it no matter what your motive is for saying them."

"It will be a long day tomorrow." Marcus stood up, dusted his pants off a little before moving to sit on the edge of Katia's bed, "I will come see you before I leave, but you should sleep well tonight. You need your rest to keep up your strength."

"Of course." She smiled and inclined her head slightly. "You will need your rest more then I since you have a long day ahead of you while I have nothing but more rest ahead of me. So go and sleep now Marcus, I will be fine."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Katia's brow, "Sleep well my dear sister."

"To you as well."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Stefan was – to put things mildly – an incredibly beautiful man. He was pale like all vampires, but on him the color of his skin looked natural, as though it had always been that way. But his lips surprisingly still held just the faintest traces of rose that had lingered from his years spent as a human, although, there didn't seem to be anything besides his own beauty that he had carried with him into his vampiric life.

He had very fair blond hair which was rather long and looked as though someone had gone at it for a while with a pair of shears or a knife because of how rough all of the layers were. It fell straight around his face, framing the delicate features. His eyebrows were narrow above a pair of almost unusually shaped eyes that seemed foreign in the land he was familiar with. Other then that, his features were delicate and narrow.

His presence in the vampire coven's castle brought Marcus to wonder over why he had been turned.

But that wasn't all that Marcus noticed about Stefan. The vampire was manipulative and cruel with an authoritative streak to him which Marcus felt just couldn't be dominated. He was very surprised to find out that Stefan wasn't considered the top leader of the entire coven of vampires who had ruled over his people for many decades.

That honor belonged to Vladimir, but Marcus wouldn't meet him until two months after he'd arrived at their castle.

For his own safety, apparently, two of the coven's vampires had been volunteered as his bodyguards. Their names were Raewynn – and it was obviously not her real name – and the other was Kasen.

Raewynn had long dark brown hair that fell in soft waves about her face and down her back. And even though she was pale, her skin still held the barest traces of her original tone. Her nose was narrow as was her face, and her features were delicate and beautiful. But it was obvious that she wasn't of European descent; her features were that of Asiatic origin. That was what made Marcus doubt that Raewynn was really her name.

As for Kasen, he was tall, pale, and there was the faintest trace of a scar on his left cheek. His hair was short and was a dark, dirty blond. Next to Raewynn, he looked as though he was a giant as she was small in comparison to all of the other members of the coven.

Even Katia would have been taller then her.

But what truly surprised Marcus about his two vampiric bodyguards was the deep connection they shared with the other.

Katia had called it 'intuition' and Gryta had warned him that it bordered on being witchcraft, but Marcus had always been able to somehow instinctively tell what the relationships of those were around him. He could tell usually from a single glance or just a feeling of whether or not a marriage was happy if he saw a woman out in the street with her husband, or whether a family was happy just by looking at them or being in the same room. It was just something that he'd always been aware of, but he'd never really looked into using it for his own gain.

The one time that he'd used it for almost selfish means was when he'd looked into his sister's relationship with her almost husband.

They weren't a match. Katia would have been unhappy.

So when Marcus first saw Raewynn and Kasen in the same room together when he'd been organizing the many books and scrolls of the coven's library, he'd almost fallen off his stool at the strange array of sensory information that he got. The bond between the two of them was strong, stronger then any relationship he'd ever had the luck to observe between humans.

Whatever bond it was they shared, Marcus could see that the two of them had been together for years – possibly decades or centuries – and that if anything were to tear them apart, they would find each other again. But if they were permanently separated, such as if one of them was destroyed or killed, then the other one would simply cease to exist.

Marcus found himself jealous of their connection, of what they shared. He wanted something like that for himself or at least, one day he would.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"Raewynn says that you have a gift which may be... of use to us."

Vladimir's voice was deep, deep and smooth, speaking of dangerous and reassurance all at once. Clearly the vampire was one who you didn't cross and expect to live after. He also radiated his own aura of power that was almost tangible in how strong it was, how potent his very presence was.

There was no way that you would deny Vladimir something; he would get what he wanted, what he desired. That was how he had brought Stefan into his fold.

As it turned out – much to Marcus' own shock and almost horror – the two of them were more then just the leaders of the coven; they were lovers.

Or, as the vampires referred to such a relationship, mates.

Marcus swallowed, feeling incredibly nervous all of a sudden, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, "I am afraid I do not know what you speak of."

"Your letters to your sister have revealed that you possess the ability to 'see' the relationships of others," Vladimir replied in an almost lazy tone. Absently, one of his hands stroked through Stefan's hair who was sitting on the large throne beside him, head resting on the older vampire's shoulder. "You may not realize it, but your gift would be immensely useful to us."

"If that is all you need of me my lord?" Raewynn bowed from her position just inside the doors of the huge and ornate throne room.

Vladimir dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

Once it was just the three men, he returned his full, scrutinizing attention back onto the human man standing in front of him. A smirk slowly spread across his face.

"Of course, you will not have much of a choice in the matter. If what Raewynn has informed us is true, then you will join us, whether you are willing or not."

Stefan then spoke up for the first time, "Your sister has not much longer to live, her illness has progressed, you would not want to shorten her life even further, would you?"

"Leave Katia out of this."

"If that is what you want, then you must join us."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

So we get to see some of Marcus' past along with seeing the Romanian coven. Are they behind the mysterious murders? What will happen next! Stay tuned to find out!

Sorry about the late update. Real life got in the way of updating – the next part will be posted on Friday of next week. I'll add a few new things in the meantime to make up for how late this was.

Oh, and congrats to **avari_maethor** for guessing the surprise pairing!

Twilight.

_**Complexity**_** has been nominated at The Indie Twific Awards for Best Secondary Characterization! Go vote for it now! The link is in my profile along with further details. Thank you to whoever nominated; I love you all and thank you. First round of voting ends March 2! Let's see if we can show these canon fans how it's done!**


	13. XIII Uncertainties

**Title:** Complexity**  
Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
Part:** XIII. Uncertainties**  
Prompt:** 021. wait**  
Words: **3640 words**  
Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XIII. Uncertainties**

"Only later did I learn that Katia was gone; she knew too much, and to them, she was expendable and a weakness. That was something that couldn't be tolerated; they liked their feelings of invincibility."

After that, Marcus fell silent. He'd drifted away from Seth while he'd been speaking, and his voice had taken on a distant quality that scared the young man just a little. He wasn't used to Marcus sounding so… _**apathetic**_; it was something that he wasn't used to hearing from him. He didn't think that anyone could sound so detached from their own past that they way they talked about it made it sound like they were repeating a story that they'd heard a hundred times before. It was unnerving.

Marcus' hands were resting in his lap, clenched into the fists, the only sign of an emotion that had been burning so deep in him for centuries. He'd never been able to find it in himself to forgive the monsters who had killed his sister.

_She didn't have long to live anyway… why kill her?_

It was a thought that had tormented him for so long. He knew that Katia had presented a weakness to the Romanians – that much they'd told him – and that weaknesses had to be dealt with accordingly. But Katia had been ill, she wouldn't have lived longer then the year's end; there was no point, no sense, to having killed her sooner.

When Raewynn had told him – against orders and because she had felt he would worry and perhaps do something reckless – he'd been heartbroken. It hadn't helped his already strained relations with Stefan or Vladimir, and it only served to make him that much more determined to bring them down.

Revenge. That had been his motivation for joining Aro and his growing coven, the Volturi. He had inside information that the young vampire would need to take down the Romanians, and he'd been all too willing to part with it. As long as Stefan and Vladimir paid for what they'd done, then he was fine with whatever the means were.

Marcus was snapped out of his morbid and almost chilling thoughts when the scent of salt water reached his nose. For a second he was confused, but then he quickly remembered that no, he wasn't alone, and that he wasn't imagining the scent or the sound of a pounding heart nearby.

Looking over at his companion, Marcus could see the glistening trails on the young man's cheeks and belatedly realized that he was crying. Hating himself – after all, he had probably reminded Seth a little too much about his own sister who he'd mentioned – for causing the wolf such pain, he slowly reached out and brushed away the tears with his thumb.

"I'm sorry."

That seemed to startle Seth, because he looked at Marcus with wide, confused eyes for a few seconds before he himself realized that he was crying. He shook his head, raising his own hand to roughly wipe away the offending moisture.

"S'not your fault." Even when his cheeks were drier, his eyes were still red and a bit puffy.

"I reminded you of something that I shouldn't have," Marcus replied softly. "And for that, I must apologize."

"You apologize too much, stop it." Seth's anger was missing much of its usual bite. He sighed, and in that moment he looked incredibly tired and, well, mature. And again, Marcus was surprised by just how beautiful the other could be.

"If you wish." Marcus hesitated, then, "Are you tired?"

"Not really… I'm just…" Not seeming to be able to find the words that he wanted, Seth took an unsteady breath before giving a weak grin, "I guess we're kindred spirits in this."

_We both have lost the relative who we held the most dear._

"Your sister still lives," Marcus murmured, hoping that he wouldn't be crossing some invisible line with what he was saying. "I'm sure that you will see her again one day."

Seth's face dropped a little, but his voice was soft and full of a genuine emotion that Marcus couldn't put a name too, "Thanks Marcus."

In what seemed to be an unconscious movement, Seth leaned into Marcus, letting his head rest on the vampire's shoulder and letting out a sigh. He seemed so relaxed and at ease – what could almost have been a first – that finally Marcus felt his sixth sense snap into a little more focus; it had been clouded since Seth had waltzed into his life.

A pleasant shock ran through Marcus' system as he registered the warm feelings and the almost inexplicable draw that he felt towards Seth was, in actuality, returned in almost desperate earnest by the young man. He could feel – he'd known for a long time that his relationship with Seth was different from every other one that he'd shared with anyone else – but this was a first, even for him.

The draw was so strong, and whatever it was that was causing the bond between them to form, it was powerful and couldn't be stopped. Not that Marcus wanted it too; he was having problems imaging what his life would be like if Seth was suddenly gone from it.

He was jolted back to the world going around him when Seth shifted just a little closer, as though he was seeking comfort from the physical contact with the vampire. With the understanding of what his gift had told him, Marcus complied with the silent request and gently wrapped an arm around the young man's shoulders.

The two of them stayed like that for what felt like hours, but in actuality was more like several very long minutes. Eventually, they were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

Alec's voice carried through the heavy wood of the door, "Heidi's returned, Marcus."

With the smaller vampire's reappearance, the spell that had been cast over the two was broken, and Marcus looked down at Seth, feeling a surge of worry well up within himself. He didn't want to leave Seth when he was obviously feeling so vulnerable, but at the same time he knew that if he didn't feed soon then he would most likely do something rash and stupid. He might have had much more control over himself then a newborn – or even some other vampires – but that didn't mean that he had ridiculous amounts of control like Carlisle.

At times, though, he wished that he did.

Still wet and teary brown eyes met Marcus', Seth managed a weak smile, "You'd better get going."

"Will you be alright?"

The question hung in the air for several long moments, and Seth seemed to be contemplating it heavily before he answered. When the words came, they sounded hesitant, but there was a certainty in them that told Marcus that Seth would be alright.

"I'm still upset… but don't worry about me. You need to… feed, and I shouldn't be keeping you from that." Once more, the young man attempted to give Marcus a smile, and while this one felt more genuine then the last one, it still didn't completely reach Seth's eyes.

On a spur of the moment idea, Marcus leaned forward and pressed his lips to Seth's forehead in a quick peck, "I will return shortly."

Seth nodded in acknowledgement, and then Marcus was out the door, quietly and quickly conversing with Alec.

The younger vampire's eyes were a bright shade of red – he'd obviously fed before coming – and he peered up at the older vampire with his usual stoic face, "Another attack, last night. Jane's already left to see if she can trace the one, or ones, who are responsible; she took Demetri with her."

Marcus nodded, "Where?"

"Not far from here; they are definitely moving closer to Volterra, and they're also clearly aware of our existence. The bodies have all been easily found; there have been no signs of even attempting to hide the remains. Whoever is behind this is definitely trying to get our attention, and they have it now."

Marcus fell silent for a few moments, contemplating the information that he'd just been given. He carefully made note of what was important, and was almost terrified to realize just how much of it was recognizable. He felt his doubts begin to melt away and he had to fight to keep his own terror from consuming him; he'd been right, Seth would be in danger.

"Stay with Seth. No matter what, do not let him out of your sight until I return."

Alec inclined his head, eyes fluttering closed, "Of course."

Once he was assured of Seth's safety, Marcus strode hurriedly away from Alec and his rooms. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, but one thing had clicked.

Vladimir had to be involved.

There wasn't any question of that, all of the pieces fit together; it was a strategy that Marcus had seen before. It was the very same one which Aro had used in order to draw out the Romanian coven; a suggestion of which Marcus had given him. Vladimir wouldn't back away from a direct threat to his power, and he didn't forget things. He would remember with startling clarity just what tactics had been used against him in the past.

This was just his way of taunting them. While Marcus doubted that Vladimir would act directly against the Volturi; he didn't have the power or backing to go against them. Whatever it was that Vladimir was planning, it had to do with vengeance or regaining his lost honour; the reasoning probably would make little sense to him.

In some ways, Vladimir and Aro were a lot alike, both of them loved power – savoured it – and were always striving to gain more. Whereas Aro had sought to boost his power by surrounding himself by highly gifted vampires who swore their loyalty to him and with cunning plans and subterfuge; Vladimir, on the other hand, preferred to go about achieving his goals in a more straightforward manner.

Unlike Aro, Vladimir made no appearances at being compassionate or civil; he was ruthless and bloodthirsty, and that was a reputation that he cultivated and adored. If he only had Stefan at his side, he would be fine with that; he didn't need anyone else to fight his battles for him.

But like Aro, Vladimir could play people's and vampire's hearts too well. He knew just where to apply pressure, how much, and when. He was an expert at getting people to bend to his will, and he also understood far better then Aro the ties of mates.

It wouldn't take him long to figure out just how much Seth meant to Marcus, and then he would exploit that fact. Marcus knew that Vladimir was desperate to have him back; he had been the pride of the Romanian coven, right below Stefan. He knew just how highly in demand his gift was.

And he knew that Aro was a collector gifts, and that he only liked to include those which he considered valuable to him in his coven. But he also knew that Aro harboured a deep-seated jealousy – almost hatred – of Carlisle and his coven. Aro desired so many of the gifts of that coven but he couldn't possess them.

"_With them, we would be invincible."_

Shaking himself out of his dark thoughts, Marcus focused instead on what he needed to do right then; he could think more on Aro and Vladimir's possible motivations later.

Entering the plain hall that had originally been designed to be a dining hall, Marcus wasn't surprised to discover that many of the humans who had been brought there had already been slaughtered. Blood had been smeared and splattered on the floors and walls, creating a gruesome scene of death and murder. The new bloodstains covered the old ones, and the room had a decidedly unsettling and terrifying feel to it.

Taking a quick glance around, Marcus noted that there were a few humans still alive. His eyes focused on the relatively young woman who was weeping over the broken and bloody corpse of a young man; clearly her husband. He felt a tug of pity for her in his heart, and immediately was in front of her.

She looked up at him, her face oddly devoid of emotion despite the tears streaking uncontrollably down her cheeks. The look in her eyes was one of hopelessness; she knew that she was going to die, and she'd accepted that it was inevitable. Her posture and expression spoke of resignation and desolation.

_Kill me, just end this._ Her entire body seemed to scream that message, and Marcus couldn't deny her silent pleas.

He swept down on her in a blur of black fabric, pinning her easily to the ground with a little more force then was necessary. She let out a quiet noise of shock at the sudden movement, but offered up no resistance to the vampire.

His teeth sank into the tender flesh of her neck, ripping through muscle, tendons, and nerves. The venom surged into her body, and she finally let loose several agonizing screams that largely went unheard by the vampires in the room. Her blood poured out of her body and into Marcus' mouth in surges of rich heat, filling him, revitalizing him.

Under Marcus, her body seized up and writhed from the combined pain of the vampire's bite and the venom. Her struggles grew weaker as more and more of her blood left her, her skin losing its rosy hue and turning cold, pale like the stone beneath her. Her heart beat frantically in its last few beats before those beats grew slow and sluggish before halting completely as almost all of her blood was drained.

Marcus pulled away from the empty body, wiping the excess blood off on his sleeve – he would have to change and wash before returning – his eyes had brightened, turning into a warm shade of red that was reminiscent of wine. He was still thirsty, though, and he turned to the next human, striking without a thought and letting his instincts drive him through the ritualistic actions.

Heidi was waiting for him outside the hall when he finished. Her eyes were wide and bright red – she had yet to put her contacts back in. Quietly, she fell into step just behind him as the two of them walked through the halls of the palace.

"Rumours are flying in the city," Heidi murmured softly. "Even some of the tourists whom I brought back were nervous about being in the area. They kept muttering about how the murders were random; that there was no pattern to them except that all of the victims had been killed in the same way, suffered similar injuries…"

"They want our attention," Marcus murmured softly. "And now they have it."

Heidi nodded, keeping her eyes forward, "This changes things."

"It does."

Silence fell once again, and Marcus could hear the dull grind of Heidi's teeth worrying her lower lip, "Are you going to take Seth into the city tonight? Alec mentioned that you were."

"I made a promise, I intend to keep it." Marcus offered no other explanation for his out of character actions; it didn't matter to him that he was acting strangely, even for him.

"I'll stay nearby just in case I'm needed."

"You think that wise? It could draw more attention to him – make him more of a target – especially if there are spies in the city."

Heidi shook her head, "He's already got a target painted on his back the size of France; if you haven't noticed Marcus, he's already starting to bear your scent claim. Any of our kind would be curious as to why that is. I won't leave him, or you, defenceless."

"Is this your way of proclaiming your loyalty?" Marcus was often confused by the young, female vampire. Her actions were often contradicting and didn't always make sense to him in the grand scheme of things.

She scowled just a little, "I'm doing this for Seth; he's the first person to accept me – vampirism and all – without hesitation. I won't let anything or anyone hurt him; and that includes you."

The way she said that last bit was forceful, with a little bit of threat thrown in for good measure; Marcus wasn't surprised to hear Heidi speak like that. She'd always been a very passionate individual, especially towards those whom she cared about.

"He has that effect on us all." _Excluding the more inhuman of us._

"I'll go clean myself up; you don't have to wait for me." And with that she was gone; Marcus could hear the soft shuffling of her clothes as she ran up the staircase.

He sighed and continued on; there was a spare bathroom in his wing that he could use. Absently, he wondered if he would have to dispose of his clothes too, because they obviously smelled of human blood and of death; and that could potentially upset Seth. He eventually decided that he'd simply leave them in the room for the servants to collect and wash for him; they knew the drill.

Even if the smell of their stain removers was atrocious.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The sensation of the hot water was a welcome relief. Marcus tilted his head back under the spray of water, not paying attention to the slightly pink hue that it was taking as it washed away the blood which had soaked its way through his clothes. He'd already scrubbed himself down with soap to erase the scent of the blood as best he could, and he could only hope that that was enough.

Turning off the water, he stood for a few moments in the shower, taking a few deep breaths; he hadn't felt so nervous and giddy in years. It was a strange experience.

When he stepped out of the shower, he wasn't surprised to see that his clothes were gone and had been replaced with his usual choice of slightly formal, out-dated wear. Even though Heidi had once lamented his choice in wardrobe, he hadn't cared enough to ever update it with the times; fashions came and went too quickly for him to really pay attention to them. But now that he paid a little more attention to it… he wondered if he would stand out a little too much next to Seth.

After all, Seth clearly had had Heidi's help with his own wardrobe, and it was considerably more modern then his was. But then Marcus decided that it didn't really matter; no one else was complaining about what he wore, but maybe he would speak to Heidi on updating his choices a little more. A little diversity couldn't hurt.

Drying himself off, Marcus dressed with the same precision and speed that came with many years 0f practice. Once he was sure that he was entirely presentable and that the scent of human blood had all but been erased, he left the bathroom and made his way back to where he'd left Seth with Alec.

Seth's scent trails were remarkably easy for him to find and follow, simply for the fact that the young man hadn't spent enough time in the wing for his scent to permeate it. That would come with time, and as such, it didn't take Marcus very long to trace the wolf and his guard down to the sitting room.

Obviously Seth had heard him coming, because he was already tucking his bookmark into one of the books that he'd borrowed from the library on Marcus' suggestion. He set it aside on the nearby table and turned to face Marcus.

Alec was lurking unobtrusively in one of the corners of the room, eyes closed and breathing even. He showed no signs that he'd heard Marcus even enter the room; he only acknowledged the older vampire's presence with the barest inclination of his head.

Returning the gesture, Marcus watched Alec drop his crossed arms before the young vampire had walked calmly to the door, opening it, and leaving the two of them alone. The door closed behind him with a soft thud.

Seth took in Marcus' appearance; the fresh clothes, the clean scent, and the renewed brightness of his eyes. He didn't say anything about the change in appearance; after the first few feeding sessions, he'd learned not to say anything about any of the changes in either Heidi or Marcus; it was better and easier to deal with if he didn't think about it.

His expression stayed the same, almost completely blank with the slightest cast of sorrow to it; it didn't matter that the people killed were nameless, faceless strangers to him. They were still people, and it still hurt Seth to know that they were dying in order to sustain people who he cared about. It was a difficult dilemma, and it was one that he avoided thinking about as much as possible.

"_Aro will allow nothing less then what he regards as our 'true' food source."_

Mentally shaking his head, Seth managed the best smile he could for the vampire and was relieved when Marcus gave a small one in return.

"Is it too late for me to drag you into Volterra for a couple of hours?" Seth asked, his smile growing and softening just a little.

"No." _Never too late for you._

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Sorry about how long this took to have up, technical issues and real life got in the way. You all have my sincerest apologies for the wait, but I hope that this was worth it.

As always, review if you liked, and review if you decide to favorite or alert. Thanks!

Twilight.


	14. XIV A Little Night Music

**Title:** Complexity**  
Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
Part:** XIV. A Little Night Music**  
Prompt:** 022. happy**  
Words:** 4317 words**  
Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XIV. A Little Night Music**

There were a few people out on the streets in Volterra when Marcus and Seth arrived, but they looked around themselves nervously and seemed to be in a hurry to get wherever it was that they were going. A few of them looked at Marcus with lingering eyes – probably because the vampire wasn't exactly dressed in what could be considered modern casual attire. Seth didn't really mind it too much, but he made sure to stick as close as possible to Marcus' side while trying not to seem clingy. Or jealous.

"Do you think those murders have anything to do with why the city's so empty?" Seth glanced around as another pair of people ducked into the doorway of a townhouse.

"The last ones were only a mile from here; people are definitely worried that the… murderer will come here next. The fact that there are no patterns to these deaths doesn't help their fears either – the police have no leads and a lot of it has been hushed up." Almost unconsciously, Marcus reached out and took hold of Seth's hand, lightly tugging on the appendage as he led the wolf to their destination.

Seth smiled, "Are we in a hurry too?"

"Somewhat."

"That's not really an answer." Seth rolled his eyes and slipped his hand out of Marcus, only to retake it in a much more comfortable and natural way. He gave the surprised vampire a playful grin before giving the hand a squeeze.

If he could have blushed, then Marcus' cheeks would have been a lovely shade of light pink at that moment.

The bookstore that Marcus favoured was just off of the square, and even though it was late at night and with the threat of a murderer lurking in the shadows, there were still a few tourists ambling about. Seth stopped to look at the various building around the small square including the Palazzo dei Priori which he did stop to ask a few questions about.

Marcus answered them as best he could, and once again he felt a pleasant warmth surge up in his chest when he saw Seth's expression of rapt attention. It didn't take too long until a comfortable silence settled over the pair.

Eventually, Seth broke it, his curiosity overcoming him, "So, where is it exactly that we're going?"

"There are a few more contemporary book stores here in Volterra," Marcus explained. "But most of them only carry titles in Italian and they can be a bit of an annoyance if you want to order anything in another language. The place that I'm taking you too mostly specializes in older volumes, but the shopkeeper is an old friend – he would have no problem with ordering in books in English for you, if I was to ask."

The mention of the shopkeeper being an old friend of Marcus' surprised Seth quite a bit; he hadn't thought that any member of the Volturi would consider a human a friend. For one thing, a number of them didn't seem to think too highly of the human race as a whole; and for another, Aro didn't seem like the type to encourage familiarity with people who had such short existences.

"That doesn't seem like something Aro would allow," was what Seth finally said.

Marcus shrugged, "Aro is of the notion that fear is the best way to control people instead of basing a relationship on faith or friendship. He might not approve of this friendship – but after a while, he conceded to it being a '_**necessary**_' evil."

Gently, Marcus steered Seth down a narrow side street that was just off of the main square. The street itself was mostly dedicated to residential buildings, but the old wooden sign which announced the name of the book store still hung over a rather old but well-cared for shop. Above it, several windows looked out over the street – an apartment for the shop-keeper and his family.

Opening the door, Marcus let Seth step in first, following the young wolf in. The chimes above the door tinkled softly as the door opened, and then again when it closed behind them.

Sebastian looked up from his register as the two of them walked in; he smiled at Marcus, although the vampire could detect a curious glint in his gaze as it shifted from him to Seth. He never brought company, so it wasn't surprising that the old man would want to ask after the young man who Marcus had brought with him this time.

Leaning down, Marcus whispered into Seth's ear, "Go and look around, if you see anything that you like or are curious about, come and ask me. I need to talk to the shopkeeper for a few moments."

"Well, you have fun with that," Seth replied. He was already distracted by the masses of books both new and old that were stacked and shelved everywhere inside the rather cluttered store.

Still, it had a feel to it that Marcus hadn't seen duplicated anywhere else. As well, Sebastian was one of the nicest humans that he'd had the actual pleasure of meeting in a very long time. Aro might not have approved of him knowing, but Sebastian was comfortable with the fact that his best patron was a vampire – an extremely ancient one. He never made any moves to reveal this fact to anyone else; this was what had guaranteed his own continued existence, as well as what allowed Marcus to keep coming back.

Marcus hadn't felt the need to explain that he had known many of Sebastian's forefathers. He'd been purchasing his books and documents from this family for many, many years.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Marcus," Sebastian greeted. His smile was warm and welcoming, as was his voice which was rough with age; his English had just the slightest traces of an accent to it. "It's been a few months; you've been busy, though, I guess."

Affording the old man a smile, Marcus replied, "A bit, yes."

"That's the first time I've ever seen you smile," Sebastian remarked, clearly surprised by the transformation of the vampire in front of him, even though he didn't obviously show it. He'd never seen Marcus come in with anyone before, much less heard him speak with any emotional inflection in his voice – if he spoke at all. "Something's changed."

"A lot has, actually," Marcus replied almost distractedly. He was watching Seth browse through the aisles, a wistful smile on his lips as he watched the young wolf trail his fingers along the bindings. Every now and again, he'd pull down a particular one that caught his attention, turning it over in his hands before opening it and taking a look inside.

"So, who is this young man you've brought with you? He's clearly not one of your own," Sebastian was still smiling, and while he would have hopped up to sit on the counter in his youth, now he just leaned his elbows on it.

"His name is Seth," Marcus replied slowly, carefully weighing his answer. "He caught Aro's attention, and so, he had him brought back with him." Marcus quickly added, "He's American."

Sebastian nodded complacently, "Yes, yes. Native American if I'm not mistaken – you can tell, he's got the skin tone and the features. You seem rather attached to him Marcus, I haven't seen you ever bring someone here with you."

"I – yes." Marcus stumbled for words, another first. "I've grown rather attached to him over the months he has been with us."

"That's good, everyone needs someone," Sebastian replied. "Fia has been asking after you again – she wants to have you over for dinner or at least to come visit."

"How is your wife doing?"

"Well enough; the arthritis has been getting to her, but she's still as talkative as ever. She misses having the kids around, but they're starting to become a little too much for her," Sebastian replied conversationally.

Thinking it over, Marcus was careful with his reply, "Perhaps I will accept your invitation, but not at this time." He cast his eyes back over to Seth, "I would have to ask Seth if he would be… agreeable to it, but I think he would enjoy it."

"I would enjoy what?"

Both men turned to look at the young wolf that had just joined them.

Seth was looking from Marcus to Sebastian, eyes lingering a bit longer on the former, he repeated his question, "What would I enjoy Marcus?"

Before the vampire could respond, the elderly human beat him to it, "Ah, my wife has been asking after Marcus here. She would like it if he dropped by for dinner sometime, preferably this week."

Finding his voice, Marcus continued, "I was just saying that I would need to ask you first; that is, if you would like to come along. I would… be much more comfortable if you were to come with me."

Unexpectedly, nervousness churned at Marcus' insides. He wasn't exactly sure why he had said that last part, but it had been out before he'd been able to think of all the ramifications of it. But then again, he was having some problems lately with keeping some things from spilling past his lips; especially where Seth was concerned.

With Seth, honesty always seemed to be the best policy. And besides, Marcus didn't really think that he had it in him to lie to the young man – he'd always had some difficulty with it before – and he saw no reason to deceive him now. And even though Seth would probably never admit it, Marcus just knew that Seth would like to get out of the palace and spend some time with living, breathing humans – even if Marcus was present also.

"Sure, that sounds good to me."

Sebastian was grinning hugely at that response; it was clearly the one that he wanted, "I'll let the missus know then. Is Saturday good for the two of you?"

"That would be fine," Marcus replied. He was smiling again as he tilted his head to look down at Seth, "Seth?"

"Whatever's fine with you Marcus."

There was a twinkle in Sebastian's eyes at the exchange, and he nodded his head, "Good, good. I will tell Fia to expect the both of you then. Come by around seven, we'll be expecting you, alright?"

They both nodded.

"Good, and just what can I do for the two of you?"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Sebastian had several older works of a few authors tucked away onto a little shelf in the back that looked a little neglected. Not very many people came to him looking for modern English texts – most people read the best sellers and others in Italian – so he didn't really have any in stock. The few that he did had come to him second hand.

From the small selection, Seth had found a few copies of some of Stephan King's older books, along with a few of Anne Rice's _Vampire Chronicles_ series. He'd given Sebastian a list of his favourite authors, and the elderly man had promised to order in as many of their books as he could; in English of course.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad evening.

"We should do this sort of thing more often," Seth said as they stepped back out into the square. His hands were once again entangled with Marcus', and he was letting the vampire gently lead him along; his stomach had made its hunger known as they'd exited the small bookstore.

That made Marcus smile, "I'm sure that while Sebastian might enjoy seeing more of us, he wouldn't want to see _**that**_ much of us."

"You need to work on your humour."

"I know, you have made that painfully obvious Seth." Marcus didn't have much of a sense of humour – he could understand sarcasm and knew when someone was trying to be funny, it was just that the intricacies of doing that himself escaped him. "Although, I don't think that I would ever be considered a comic genius."

"That's fine with me." Seth shrugged, "Anyway, what I meant was that we should go out like this together more often. I like spending time with you."

It didn't escape Marcus' attention that Seth's cheeks had turned an almost delicate shade of pink at that, and to him it seemed as though he'd just received confirmation that the attraction he was feeling wasn't completely one-sided. After all, what he'd felt earlier had proven that almost beyond a doubt.

"I'm glad to hear that." His tone was sincere, and filled with a mixture of emotion ranging from gratitude to a deep sense of love and companionship. Now Marcus couldn't imagine himself without Seth in the picture; the young man had become a rather permanent fixture in his life.

"So where are we going for dinner? Or are we going to head back to the palace?" While the two of them hadn't stopped walking, Seth was now looking up at Marcus instead of where he was going.

Softly pulling Seth out of the way from walking into a lamp post, Marcus replied, "Obviously you're hungry. What kind of host would I be if I didn't make sure that you were fed?"

Not pointing out that he wasn't so much of a guest of the Volturi but a prisoner, Seth nodded and followed the vampire, "So we're going to get something to eat?"

"Yes, I have the perfect place in mind."

Even though Marcus didn't need to eat, he was so familiar with the layout of the city and its restaurants and little eateries. Ever since they'd left Sebastian's shop, Marcus had been running through all of them, weighing the pros and cons of each before nixing most of them. Eventually, he'd settled upon a place that was a well-known attraction for the young lovers of the town, but it wasn't too popular with the tourist crowd.

"Benvenuto. Quanti nel vostro partito?" The host was a young man who was smiling at them charmingly. He was dressed simply in black, but there was a hint of refinement to his clothing too; at the same time, he was attractive enough but he was no match for Marcus' pale beauty.

Despite its reputation as a 'lover's haunt,' Marcus had been there once before. Aro had been trying to convince a young lady to join them, and this was the location where he had invited her to meet them. What Marcus dimly remembered about the place was that the menu – when he'd glanced at it – had quite a bit of variety to it and that the atmosphere was enjoyable.

And maybe he had picked it because he wasn't ignorant about all of the attention that he – and more specifically – _**Seth**_ had been given throughout the evening. He was smart enough to recognize the stings of jealousy.

"Solo due. Preferibilmente da qualche privato."

Since he'd been speaking Italian for centuries by that point, Marcus had long since lost his typically foreign accent. Then again, Italian had been one of the first languages that he'd picked up on during his younger years as a vampire.

The host picked up two menus from the stack on the front table, glancing quickly at a diagram of the restaurant and all of the tables, "Segumi allora, per favore."

Gesturing for them to follow, the host led them into the restaurant and towards the rear of it. In the back was an area where there were several tables that were tucked away into little alcoves. Each one was set for two people, and it was into one of these that the host directed them. His smile was warm and just a smidge flirtatious as he looked at Seth.

Luckily, he didn't see the rather dirty look that Marcus was giving him behind his back.

Once they were seated, the host seemed a little dejected, but he kept up his cheery tone of voice, "Il tuo cameriere sarà con voi prossimamente."

"Grazie." Marcus' voice was a little tense as he replied.

The host shot Seth one more look – this one much more obvious – before he turned away and left, looking a little put off. He just couldn't compete when Seth wasn't interested in him at all.

"Wow, this place is really nice," Seth spoke in a hushed voice as he looked around the restaurant. "Have you ever been here before?"

"Once," Marcus replied cryptically. "I thought that you would like it – their menu has quite a bit of variety to it."

"You do realize that you're going to have to translate for me because I have absolutely no idea what most of this says." Seth gestured to his menu which he'd opened; while a few words leapt out at him, much of it was complete gibberish to him. "And how are you going to avoid suspicion? You don't eat."

"I thought that you could eat for more then one person." There was a tiny hint of amusement to Marcus' voice – he knew about Seth's voracious appetite.

At that, Seth blushed again, "Well, then maybe you should order the same thing as me so that it doesn't look too suspicious."

"Perhaps," Marcus acquiesced. "Although, I think that maybe it would be best if I ordered something different – that way you can experience a little more of what this place has to offer."

"Fine, whatever you say. You'll still have to order though, because I don't have any idea of what they're offering."

Marcus smiled a little, eyes darting over the menu, "Well, you'll still have to give me some idea of what you'd like – despite what you may believe, I can't read your mind Seth."

"Whatever's good; I actually don't really have a preference when it comes to food. I'll eat pretty much anything."

Instead of the waiter the host had promised, a pretty looking waitress appeared alongside their table. She short of that average pretty that a lot of young women had – nothing about her really stood out, but at the same time she didn't look plain. Her smile, though, was warm and welcoming.

"Buona sera. Posso offrirle gualcosa da bere?" Her voice was soft, and her eyes flickered between the two of them – although they lingered just a bit more on Marcus.

Turning to Seth, Marcus asked, "What would you like to drink Seth?"

"Am I even legal in Italy?" Seth asked, glancing down the menu to the section at the bottom that read 'Bevande' – and he was assuming that was drinks because he could recognize a few of the logos that decorated the list under it. Realizing that Marcus might not have understood his question, Seth quickly clarified, "I mean what's the drinking age."

"Sixteen, why?" The question confused Marcus just a little – but then he remembered that he'd never actually asked how old Seth was. He had always assumed that Seth was at the very least in his late teens.

"Oh good – I can drink then."

Marcus stared at the young man for several long seconds.

Blushing, Seth replied, much softer this time with, "I was just asking because, if you want, you can order wine or something for us and it wouldn't get us into trouble with the law or anything."

"Seth, you know that I –"

"I know that, but Rose always used to say that the smell of wine was a lot nicer then any of the other drinks that restaurants served – especially if they tended to be the more high end ones."

Marcus paused to think. What Seth had said was the truth – even if he couldn't actually drink it, he did rather enjoy the smells of both food and cooking, and wine was included in that. At times it just served to remind him of what he lost, but at that moment, he was quite sure that it would just bring back a few good memories.

Reminiscing didn't seem like too bad of an idea.

He turned to the waitress, "Avremo una bottiglia di la specialità della casa, per favour."

She scribbled that onto the notepad in her hand and winked at him, "Scelta molto buona. È tutto qui?"

"Sì, grazie."

The young woman nodded once, and then disappeared around the wall at the end and probably into the drinks alcove. It didn't take her long to return, a bottle in one hand and with another waiter in tow who was holding a little bucket of ice in one hand and a stand for the bucket in the other.

The waitress popped the cork out of the bottle, and poured a little into the two glasses in front of the two men. She smiled broadly at them as she set it into the bucket, "Siete pronti per ordinare ora o volete qualche minuto in più?"

Giving her a charming smile, Marcus shook his head a little, "Non ancora del tutto."

The waitress nodded and disappeared again, this time heading towards the front of the restaurant where she probably had more customers waiting.

"You seem to be attracting quite a bit of attention," Seth said evenly, setting his menu down on the table and watching Marcus as his gaze casually flicked over the menu. "Whenever I go out with you vampires, I always seem to have to compete."

At that, Marcus raised an eyebrow, "I'm not quite sure that I understand you."

"Well, all of you seem to get the same reaction from humans in that they clearly think that your kind are the most attractive people that they're ever met – though I can't say that I blame them. And then I'm just the plain one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I always feel a little out of place whenever I'm out and about with you or Heidi."

Surprised at the confession, Marcus peered over at the wolf, noticing the way his cheeks were coloring yet again. He couldn't help but marvel at how the young man's features were thrown into rather sharp relief by the flickering light of the candles which were set on the table between them. While he wasn't quite sure that he was on stable enough ground to say so yet, but he thought that Seth was the most attractive person he'd ever met – he would say beautiful, but that didn't seem like quite the right word to say to a young man.

"I certainly don't see you that way," he said at length. He felt unsure about how to word what he wanted to say next, and fell silent.

"You seem like you have something else that you want to say." Seth smiled warmly at him, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

If he was human, Marcus would have been blushing, "I don't believe that I could picture someone else at my side, other than you."

"Really?"

"Yes." There was a feeling of finality to that word.

It was surprisingly easy to be honest with Seth; Marcus didn't feel as though the young wolf would fault him for saying something. It was a very strange feeling, but it was uplifting and comforting at the same time – not having to hide things from someone, to be able to be honest with them.

It wasn't something that Marcus had experienced, not even with her had he felt like he could be completely honest. She hadn't known about his past; it just wasn't something that Marcus had felt comfortable talking about with anyone.

He hadn't wanted her to know his shame, his loss.

"I'm flattered, then." Seth decided that he wasn't going to tell Marcus just how he felt about being at the vampire's side and how he felt about belonging there. Because just like Marcus, he didn't think that he could picture himself at anyone else's side but Marcus'.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

And for the record, the legal drinking age in Italy is sixteen – I went and looked it up, just to be sure. Research is fun – I found out that I'd be of drinking age in Italy AND in Germany; Greece too. Sorry but I usually look up things that I'm not too familiar with; although, in some cases I do take some literary liberties. I like consistency.

I am so, so, so sorry about how long it took for me to post this. My laptop's screen was completely dead because someone kicked it so I had to take it in to get the screen replaced and my inverter since my screen had been on the fritz before that. But it's completely fixed now and I have the two completed parts that I'd lost access to when my laptop died.

I will now be able to update on a regular basis once again. And once more, you all have my deepest, most sincere apologies on how long this took. The next chapter won't take so long, it'll be posted on Friday, as usual.

As always, comment if enjoyed.

Twilight.

_**Italian Translations:**  
Benvenuto. __Quanti nel vostro partito?_ : Welcome. How many in your party?_  
Solo due. Preferibilmente da qualche privato._ : Only two. Preferably somewhere private._  
Seguimi allora, per favore._ : Follow me then, please._  
Il tuo cameriere sarà con voi prossimamente. _: Your waiter will be with you shortly._  
Grazie_. : Thank you._  
Buona sera. Posso offrirle qualcosa da bere?_ : Good evening. Can I get you something to drink?_  
Bevande_ : Beverages_  
Avremo una bottiglia di la specialità della casa, per favore_. : We'll have a bottle of the house speciality, please._  
Scelta molto buona. È tutto qui?_ : Very good choice. Is that all?_  
Sì, grazie_. : Yes, thanks._  
Siete pronti per ordinare ora o volete qualche minuto in più?_ : Are you ready to order now or do you want a few more minutes?_  
Non ancora del tutto._ : Not quite yet.


	15. XV A Time of Violence, Part 1

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XV. A Time of Violence, Part 1  
**Prompt:** 032. attack  
**Words:** 4186 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XV. A Time of Violence, Part 1**

Aro was starting to make Marcus a little suspicious.

It wasn't just that the vampire was being so silent when he was usually overflowing with chatter – whether or not it was useful was up for debate – but he was someone who favoured the silky power of words to manipulate. Aro relied on conflicting actions and sweet words to win over people he deemed 'worthy' or interesting to his cause, and then manipulate their loyalty. It was what made the silence and the lack of action from the ancient vampire a little unnerving.

Obviously Aro had to be planning something.

Marcus had known Aro long enough to know that his inaction over the murders – which were now obviously caused by a vampire or a group of vampires – was completely out of character for him. Resistance like this to the laws wasn't stood for, and the punishment was swift and brutal; whoever was responsible for this would be made of an example of.

Vampires had long memories; most of the covens had learned early on that the Volturi wasn't a coven to trifle with. That was something Aro had made sure to do, he'd made sure to instil fear in the minds and very being of almost all of their kind. And if he couldn't inspire fear, then he would inspire respect.

So the lack of any sort of preventative measure to keep the citizens of Volterra from falling prey to the vampires was very unusual.

Jane and Demetri had brought back the intelligence that already seemed to mesh with what Marcus already suspected. The murders weren't the work of newborns – they were too calculated, too methodical for fresh vampires to be the perpetrators. All aspects of them were designed for the shock value; to instil fear in the hearts and minds of people while sending a message to the Volturi.

'We are coming.'

It was something Vladimir would do. He would be the sort to use the very same strategy against Aro that had been used against him; it was a petty thing to do, but it carried a powerful message to Aro. And Marcus could still remember the words that Vladimir had spoken before he'd disappeared after his coven had been devastated.

"_You will not be free of me so easily, little one."_

He shuddered unconsciously just a little at the memory of the nickname that he'd earned from the ancient vampire. Vladimir had always seemed to find some perverse pleasure in reminding Marcus of just how many more years he had seen pass then he.

But Vladimir was perhaps more dangerous then even Aro, and that meant that whatever Aro was planning had to be playing with fire. The Volturi had the advantage of numbers on their side, but Vladimir had the experience, the time, and the element of surprise on his. No matter how well prepared they were, there was no way to even out the playing field – they were at a disadvantage.

The 'preparations' over the next few days meant that Marcus couldn't spend as much time as he would have liked with Seth – and there was so much that he wanted to work through with the young man – but he thought better of complaining about it, even to himself. Once this threat had been dealt with, than he would have plenty of time without a pendulum hanging over his head to work out just what it was that he felt for Seth.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Seth had gotten somewhat used to the idea that he had his own bodyguards now. He still thought that it was a bit of an overreaction on Marcus' part, but just Alec and Heidi's presence decreased the more unpleasant run-ins that he'd been plagued with from the other members of the Volturi. But Alec's presence seemed to be the most important, because Jane would instead avoid Seth instead of the other way around.

Even though she was avoiding Seth now, that didn't mean that she'd gotten over her hatred of him. The few times that Seth had seen the tiny vampire, her face had been glowing with malice and her hands had been trembling in fists at her side from her suppressed urge to attack.

"_I would tear his head from his shoulders and drain him of blood if it weren't for the fact that he's enchanted Marcus."_

She made him sound like a complete slut, and normally Seth wouldn't have really cared – he might have even laughed – but he really didn't know exactly where he stood with Marcus, and that made him insecure. While he knew that there was something between them, he really couldn't figure out a way to put it into words.

It seemed that since Jane couldn't get to Seth physically, she was going about attacking him mentally and emotionally. She'd been spreading all sorts of malicious rumours about him throughout the Volturi – the more colourful and entertaining of which Heidi would sometimes bring back and share with him. Though, she would deny it to hell and high water when Marcus had confronted her over it; she was obviously petrified of him, but her loathing rage that she felt for Seth was overriding her common sense.

But Alec was thoroughly disgusted with his sister's behaviour, and Seth had gotten the strangely entertaining – and informative – opportunity to learn a little bit more about him.

"This is what got her into this situation in the first place," Alec said practically out of the blue after hearing a particularly nasty rumour. "She gets jealous far too easily and then lashes out with words – it was what made her so many enemies."

The two of them had been in the library for the evening, with Seth lying on the carpet in front of the fire with a book on Italian that Marcus had picked out for him. Learning a new language was difficult.

"Huh?" Seth looked up, broken out of the quiet atmosphere that had surrounded them before – he hadn't heard Alec sound so annoyed before. "She was turned for spreading stupid rumours?"

Seth liked to pretend that the rumours didn't hurt, but he knew that his friends knew him well enough. All of them had raced to reassure him.

That made Alec smile a little, and he sighed, running his hand over his face, "Not exactly. It's more her letting her petty emotions get the better of her; she doesn't think things through very often. It's mostly our parents' fault for how they raised her."

_Well that's new_, Seth thought. He hadn't heard Alec talk about his parents at all, and since he couldn't really picture either twin in a family, he'd always just assumed that they were orphans. It would have been easy for Aro to have cleaned up whatever mess had led to them becoming vampires.

The shifter blinked at the vampire, not completely comprehending.

"Oh right, I'd forgotten."

A long silence, Seth continued to look at Alec expectantly.

Alec blinked, confused, "What?"

"You can't just say something like that and leave me hanging!" Seth pointed at Alec, frowning and feeling a bit irritated. "That's just not fair!"

"What _**are**_ you talking about Seth?" Alec still had the blank look of confusion on his face as he waited for the young wolf to explain himself.

"You said that it's your parents' fault for how Jane turned out and imply that's the reason why she was turned – and then you give me nothing else but just say that you'd forgotten. Now I'm going to have to fill in the blanks myself!"

Oh. Oh now _**that**_ was embarrassing, Alec thought. Seth had one of the most vivid imaginations that he'd come across.

"I would rather that you didn't." Alec frowned and crossed his arms. "I just meant that it's because of them that she's so self-centered. They wanted to make it farther in the world, so they were pushing her to marry as high as she could and that meant stepping on quite a few toes." He shrugged, "She was put on trial for witchcraft, and it was once her sentence had been handed down that Aro stepped in – he'd had eyes for her, and me, for a while."

"Oh." Seth blinked, "You don't seem very upset about it."

"It happened centuries ago, I've largely gotten over my animosity." _Although, I could never respect Aro after what he's done._

"But you're still pretty angry with Aro," Seth noted. "Whenever he's mentioned, you always get this dark look on your face like you'd really like to kill him."

"Aro is good at making enemies; but he's equally good at keeping those enemies loyal to him. He's a contradiction. I may hate him, but I'm not stupid enough to leave. I know that he'd come after me and just bring me back – I'm too important to this coven for him to just let me walk away."

Seth didn't know how to respond to that.

"It's something he's done before; most of the Volturi were either tricked or in some way blackmailed into joining. Caius is the only one who joined of his own free will – Marcus only stayed because he had nowhere else to go at the time."

"You're very talkative today Alec," Heidi remarked with a smirk and amused tone. She'd entered the library during Alec's little speech, but hadn't done much to announce her presence.

When the female vampire spoke, Alec looked almost embarrassed and he barked out, "What do you want Heidi?"

"Oh calm down will you?" She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I came to visit with my best friend."

At that, Alec raised an eyebrow.

"And don't give me that look either."

Seth snorted at their antics. The two of them tended to act a bit like little kids whenever they were in the same room; Heidi had a way of getting under Alec's skin far too easily, and he always gave her the reaction that she was looking for. It was funny to watch.

Both of them looked over at him when they heard the noise; Alec looked almost murderously embarrassed, whereas Heidi just had an amused smirk painted across her face – Seth had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep himself from bursting out into laughter.

Finally Alec couldn't take it anymore, and he snapped at Heidi, "Just answer the question."

"Oh, you don't have to be so snappy with me Alec; I thought we had something." Heidi pretended to look affronted before she wilted under Alec's angry glare and crossed arms; so instead she pouted, "Oh, you're no fun."

"Get on with it." Alec tapped his foot on the floor a little impatiently.

"Anyway Alec," Heidi continued, finally sounding serious. She imitated the younger vampire's posture by crossing her own arms, "I came to visit because I have to leave in the morning with the rest of the guard to Volterra."

The entire atmosphere changed. Suddenly it was oppressive, and Seth felt as though his stomach had just dropped through his feet. Whatever was happening was serious if the entire Volturi guard was being sent into the city; it seemed as though Aro had finally decided to tackle this growing murder spree head on. And since Volterra was projected to be where the vampires would strike next…

"He's finally making a move," Alec murmured. "I take it he's not going himself."

Heidi shrugged, "Beats me. He probably isn't; you know how protective he is of the city – he isn't going to be letting the ones responsible for this just waltz out of here. Even if he were to find them interesting."

"True." Alec was frowning. "Is he dispatching the entire guard? That seems a little like overkill to me."

"He said he wanted you to go too," Heidi added. "But Marcus was downright scary in how he was explicit about his orders regarding you. So your orders are to stay here and guard Seth." She smiled at Seth, "So don't worry dear, you don't have to worry about anything happening to you."

"What about you Heidi?" Seth asked, the worry in his voice shining through. "Will you be okay? Will... Marcus?"

"I just told you not to worry," Heidi replied with a roll of her eyes. "So don't worry about it. We'll all be fine, and I will make sure that Marcus comes back to you in one piece." At that, she winked.

Cheeks flushing, Seth mumbled out, "Shut up... just be careful, alright?"

"Of course!" Heidi chirped. The female vampire was grinning to beat all hell and ruffled Seth's hair before cheerfully bidding the two males farewell. "Take good care of Seth while I'm gone Alec!"

When Seth turned to look at Alec, he noticed that there was a look of consternation on the male vampire's face. His arms were cross and he was glaring at the floor of the library.

"Is something wrong Alec?"

"It's... I'm sure that it's nothing," Alec replied, dismissing the question. While the troubled look disappeared from his face, but there was still that lingering look in his eyes that hadn't faded away. It was obvious that something was eating at him, but Alec wasn't about to share it – the vampire wasn't exactly the most talkative or forthcoming individual Seth had long since gotten used to it.

_Aro can't have given up this easily,_ Seth thought._ He has to be planning something... but what?_

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Several hours later and Alec was still no closer to figuring out whatever it was that Aro had planned. He knew that Aro didn't particularly care to abide by anyone's wishes but his own – even if that would mean driving a wedge between him and Marcus. Aro would always count on Marcus' loyalty and how he had nowhere else to go in keeping the ancient vampire with the Volturi. But he always underestimated the strength of others' loyalty.

And Alec had no doubt that if anything were to happen to Seth that the rift between Marcus and Aro would be irreparable.

Though, Seth had come to be rather important to Alec too. Maybe not to the same extent as Marcus, but the young wolf had been the first one who completely understood Alec and didn't push him to be someone he wasn't. It was a relief, and Alec considered the young man to be a very dear friend to him.

He might never find a mate, but he was glad to have met Seth. Very, very glad.

It was one of many reasons for why he would follow Marcus' orders so well – he respected Marcus and he cared about Seth – it wasn't just a matter of who was older or more powerful. It was what put a crucial difference between Marcus and Aro.

And from what little he knew of the Romanian coven – who were most likely behind this – they wouldn't put all of their eggs into one basket, so to speak. Vladimir probably had something planned too.

The one advantage that they had over Vladimir, was that he was blissfully unaware of Seth's existence. At least for the time being. He wasn't too sure how long they would be able to keep that a secret, but Alec was hoping very fiercely that he wouldn't discover it. He wasn't aware of Marcus' full history with the Romanians, but he was well aware that Vladimir had some 'unfinished business' with the older vampire.

He needed to keep Seth safe – that was all that was important at that moment.

Seth was browsing through one of the aisles that was solely dedicated to English tomes; a number of which Alec had brought over from his human life. His father had been a librarian, and once Aro had been through with the family, it wasn't too surprising that his life's work had been added into their vast collection. Of course, Marcus had had his usual apathetic reaction to the whole thing.

But Seth seemed happy. He was pulling down books from the shelves and flipping them open to read a bit of their content before he either re-shelved them or added them to the growing pile in his arms.

"Is there anything you're looking for in particular?" Alec asked, coming up behind the younger wolf.

Seth jumped a little in response, and several of the books that he held in his arms clattered to the ground. Sheepishly, Seth bent down to pick them back up, but Alec beat him to it, bending down in a flash and then handing them back to Seth in a neat pile.

"Thanks," Seth murmured, his cheeks turning pink again.

"It's nothing," Alec replied. He looked over the books that Seth held in his hands, before casting his eyes over the shelf in front of them. "I know that I may not look it, but I am a highly accomplished scholar on English literature."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive," Seth replied, accepting the books from Alec. "But then again, I guess that you have a lot of time on your hands."

Alec pondered that for a few moments – he'd never really counted the years, but he did some quick addition in his head, "I'm about three-hundred and sixty years old; give or take a year or two. So yes, that is a fair amount of time. Although, my speciality has always been horticulture."

Chuckling at Seth's blank look, Alec explained, "It's the art of garden cultivation and management; basically it means that I enjoy gardening."

"Seriously? That doesn't sound like a very vampiric interest," Seth joked. He was having a little trouble with balancing the rather thick books in his arms; he gratefully accepted Alec's help as the two of them proceeded back down the aisle towards the sitting area.

"Well, someone needed to bring a little life back to these gardens," Alec replied with a bit of a haughty sniff. "Aro has no idea of what looks good – or what is what – and you know that Sulpicia would never deign to even plan something she views as so dirty. Athenodora would probably enjoy it, but Caius would never let her engage in it. And as for Heidi, she gets bored far too easily."

"She mentioned something about your never-ending lectures on the subject, I think. It was when I first got here."

"Oh, she exaggerates things far too much," Alec waved if off. "She just doesn't like having to sit still for so long listening to anyone talk. Heidi prefers to be the one doing the talking."

"I've noticed." Seth grimaced.

"Did Marcus assign you reading or something?" Alec asked as they set down the books on one of the end tables and the floor around it. Even if Marcus would get on their case for potentially not taking such good care of his books, it didn't really matter since there was a distinct lack of large enough tables to put all of the tomes on.

He glanced over the books he'd taken from Seth: Chaucer, Boccaccio, Cervantes. Well, Marcus had always been a fan of the classics.

"In a way, I guess," Seth replied absently, setting down the rather large book entitled _Shakespearean Sonnets_. "He made a list of a bunch of books that he thinks I should read since he said something about my education lacking somewhat. I'm just glad that he doesn't quiz me on each of the books that I read."

"Well, Marcus did offer English tutoring back in the day," Alec remarked. "During older times, it was just a way for us to mingle a little more with the people and gather intelligence. Of course, we had to be very careful so as not to arouse any suspicion."

"He'd make one hell of an English lit professor," Seth remarked.

"Did you ever think of going to university Seth?" Alec had flipped open one of the books, eyes flicking over the lines of text that marked each page.

"I thought about it, but given the fact that I had a responsibility as a member of the pack, I couldn't," Seth shrugged. He hadn't really given much thought to education beyond high school, but he knew that his mother would have loved it but the money wasn't exactly flowing freely. "And we couldn't really afford to send me to school – Leah was already enrolled in community college at the time, and it was really a stretch for her because she had responsibilities too."

"Well, I'm sure that it wouldn't be too hard to recruit the necessary tutors for you from within the Volturi guard," Alec remarked. "If it's something that you'd like."

"I'll think about it," Seth replied. "But right now, I've got my hands full with what Marcus has been giving me." He grinned, "He's a bit of a slave driver."

"Yes, Marcus is definitely intense when it comes to his studies. I suppose that he gave you some rather good lectures while you were in Volterra on the history of various landmarks and just the city itself, right?"

"Oh yeah. It was really nice. He knows just what to tell you without it seeming like he's trying to cram in a full recitation of a history book. I think it would be really nice to go with him to a museum or something."

"Marcus loves history; he's lived it, he knows it, he breathes it," Alec remarked. "Though, I think that if it was for you, he would make sure that he was an expert on whatever it was that you were going to go and see – he wouldn't want to feed you any false information."

"He was telling me about the fascist occupation last night, along with Mussolini's regime and how things were then."

Alec brightened up at that just a little, "Ah yes, he would have mentioned that. Marcus always has loved history – his were the first few accounts published on Mussolini's new – at the time – political philosophy. He did some remarkable translations of his speeches and several of his writings.

"I know that several English authors – not just the British ones – used Marcus' translations for their own biographies of Mussolini and their studies of the time," Alec continued. "I did a few translations myself just to stay on top of my English – it is my first language – and also because I thought it was fascinating."

"Aro admired Hitler," Seth mumbled, "no surprises there."

Alec laughed, "Oh, Aro can be predictable sometimes. I'm sure that Freud would have had a field day psychoanalysing him."

And at that, Seth nearly slammed his face into the pages of the book he was holding. He was pretty sure that what Alec was saying was supposed to be an attempt at humour, but the references to people were going over his head just a little. Sometimes Alec had the weirdest sense of humour – it would take someone of a like mind to get a lot of his jokes. Sadly, Seth wasn't much of a history buff.

"Never mind that if you didn't understand, that's fine." Alec closed the book he'd opened. "I think, though, that we still have Marcus' hand written notes on the translations of those speeches, if you're ever interested in seeing them."

"Maybe another time; I have to finish these first."

"Of course."

Seth went back to his place on the carpet, setting down his book and flipping it open to the first page. He lay down in front of the fireplace as Alec threw another log on, making sure that he wasn't in danger of catching on fire himself. And then the slighter vampire settled back onto one of the armchairs, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace, drifting off just a little bit into a daze.

A loud crashing noise drew both of their attentions.

Alec was out of his chair in an instant, senses on alert and assumed as defensive posture. He could hear footsteps, light and fleeting – but there was also the noises of doors being roughly opened and then slamming into walls.

Someone was in the palace – someone who shouldn't be there.

"Seth, take the back entrance, get to the passage behind the mirror in Marcus' study. Go now."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Wow, okay, another part done and completed. Oh, and before I forget, a friend of mine was curious as to just how many readers of mine were male. So um, if you don't mind responding either in a comment or in a review, than it would be very much appreciated, and telling me why you're into reading slash would be interesting too. Thank you for this.

Anyway, I should have the next part up next Friday, barring any unforeseen circumstances, with exams this month, though, my time table is pretty tight so updating may be put on a brief hiatus.

So, as always, please please _**PLEASE**_ comment if you enjoyed this, it is very much appreciated.

Twilight.


	16. XVI A Time of Violence, Part 2

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XV. A Time of Violence, Part 2  
**Words:** 5445 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XVI. A Time of Violence, Part 2**

Alec's voice shattered the silence, jolting Seth into action. He tore down the aisle to the left of the little sitting area, pushing down on the little cherub statue which made the bookcase in front of him open just a little. Grabbing at the hidden handle, he pulled it all the way open and slipped out of the library, letting the door close behind him.

Marcus had shown him the little secret door weeks ago as a short cut for avoiding having to go through the main halls of the palace. The intent had originally been to avoid having Seth run into Jane, but in case of emergencies it could be used as an escape route. With all of the murders that had been going on and Marcus' suspicions of the Romanians involvement, he'd been taking no chances. He'd instructed Seth where most of the secret passages and escapes were in the palace and how to get to them or open to them and where they led.

The one behind the mirror led up into an empty alley in Volterra; with almost the entire Volturi coven there, it was probably safer than anywhere else in Italy.

Running down the hall, he pulled open the door to Marcus' study – not bothering to close it behind him – and made a beeline for the huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. With fumbling fingers, he found the hidden mechanism, and the mirror popped out of its frame, revealing a narrow staircase that led down. Without hesitating, Seth stepped into the passage, and closed the mirror behind him.

It was pitch-black, and even with his superior eyesight, it still took a few seconds for Seth's eyes to adjust enough for him to start running down the stairs as fast as he possibly could without tripping.

Eventually, the staircase levelled out into a narrow tunnel which made a sharp turn right at the bottom. The wall was so unexpected that Seth ran into it, winding himself just a little; he didn't let that stop him and continued running down the passage way, trailing his fingers along the walls to guide him.

Luckily the passage was relatively straightforward and eventually Seth's fingers came into contact with rusted metal. Letting his fingers explore it, he realized that it was a rusty ladder set into the stone. Grasping the first rung tightly, he hauled himself up the ladder. His head connected with the trap door with a slightly painful thud, and after a little fumbling with one hand he found the latch and cautiously opened the door.

Peering around the small, dusty room that he found himself in, Seth could see moonlight filtering in through the boards on a nearby window along with the lights from the building across the street. Climbing out of the tunnel, he closed the trapdoor carefully behind himself and took in his surroundings.

There were no signs of anyone having been in the room recently, in fact, the inch of dust on the floor and on all of the sheet-covered furniture attested to that. No one had probably been in this room for years, and it was probably owned by the Volturi.

Seth couldn't hear any suspicious noises coming from anywhere in the place either, which meant that he was alone. He heaved a sigh of relief at that before realizing that even if he was safe now didn't mean that he was going to stay that way.

There was still the chance that an enemy could come after him either through the same passage that he'd used to escape the palace – unlikely unless they had a tracker on par with Demetri in their possession – or they'd search for him; a lone person in an abandoned house was practically a beacon.

He could either stay in the house and be cornered, or he could venture out into the city and hope that he ran into one of the Volturi guard. Neither option was all that great, but Seth was terrified of staying by himself all alone in that little house just waiting to be cornered by some unknown enemy.

Eventually he went over to the window and peeked out. The street was completely deserted and all of the doors were shut and locked tight; even the little café that Seth could just make out on the street corner was completely shut up. A glance at his watch told him that it was just a little past eleven.

The deserted street outside didn't bode well, of that Seth was sure.

But venturing out into the night was probably an even worse idea then just sitting still and waiting for the situation to blow over. He'd be more at risk to be targeted; Marcus had mentioned that he did smell strongly of the Volturi and that painted a huge target on his back. Going out into the city was just a bad idea.

So all he really could do was wait and hope that Alec was alright and that Marcus would show up and tell him that everything was alright and that he could go back.

His heart was thundering in his chest as he settled in to wait.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

A loud bang shattered the silence.

Seth immediately snapped to attentiveness; he'd been drifting off for the past hour or so since nothing had happened. And even though he'd tried to keep himself alert, the monotony of the silence eventually got to him and he'd started drifting off. The adrenaline had long since worn off, leaving him with a strange sense of exhaustion.

Now, though, it was thudding heavily in his veins, and he was on his feet, back to the window. The noise had come from one of the other rooms in the house, of that he was sure.

He didn't get much time to think further on the matter, because within just a few seconds of the first bang, the door to the room which he was in was opened.

Inhaling sharply, Seth took in the man who stood in the doorway.

His pale skin and brilliant red eyes told Seth enough to know that he was a vampire, and the dark smirk which was pulling at his lips made his blood run cold. Pale skinned and brown-haired, the vampire was handsome but imposing.

And he scared Seth more than anything else had scared him before in his life. Not even the ravenous newborns had been able to put this much of a chill into Seth; he found he couldn't move, and it was only with some will power that he managed to breathe again, breath coming in shallow, ragged pants.

"Well, well," the vampire drawled. "It seems I've caught something in this trap of mine."

His voice was deep and strangely full of inflection, but the smirk didn't leave his lips and his tone was strangely cruel despite its richness. Those red eyes took in Seth in a slow movement from the wolf's shoes up to his face, focusing on his eyes. With just one look, the vampire had Seth frozen in place.

The vampire didn't seem to be looking for answers either; there was a knowing look in his eyes that told Seth that he already had an idea for why he was here.

Stepping into the room, the vampire cornered Seth against the window, the smirk never leaving his lips and that glint never left his eyes, "And what would someone as fragile as you being doing here, little human? You should not be running with our kind; you could get hurt…"

_Or worse._ The words hung in the air like smoke.

Seth couldn't find words to answer; his voice had completely failed him.

But the vampire continued, "Ah, you smell like my little fledgling… you are acquainted with him, yes? Oh, Marcus always did love to make things difficult for himself."

There was something like a sweet caress in the vampire's voice as he spoke of Marcus, but just the nature of the vampire in front of him set Seth ill at ease. He was pretty sure that he was going to die right there in that dirty little room, but he was already as scared as he was ever going to get in his life; his heart was in his throat, and he was sweating.

Stalking closer, the vampire continued to take in Seth, a conversational tone slipping into his voice, "I cannot deny that you are not beautiful, and your scent… it's rather distinctive, isn't it?"

The name suddenly leapt out of Seth's memory and rolled off his tongue before he could think, "Vladimir."

A look of feigned surprise spread across the vampire's face, "Oh my, so he has told you about me, has he? Well, no matter. I only came here to take him back; after all, he is _**my**_ fledgling."

For some reason, the stress that Vladimir placed on the possessive caused a wave of anger to surge through Seth, and he snapped back, "He's not yours; don't talk about him like he's something that you can own!"

"Well, well, it seems that you feel quite strongly for the little one," Vladimir purred, stepping closer to Seth until there was just a scant distance between their two bodies. "Could it be that you love him?"

Try as he might, Seth couldn't suppress the skip of his heart at the words. He hadn't thought about that… he'd only known Marcus for a little over two months, there was no way…

Vladimir continued speaking, interrupting Seth's thoughts, "But our kind words in strange ways… and what of you, little human? Your smell is unlike any human's that I have ever encountered."

He leaned forward, brushing his nose along the line of Seth's jaw as he inhaled.

The wolf recoiled, shivers of disgust racking through him along with fear. Vladimir was close, too close, and his interest was definitely aroused in figuring out the mystery that Seth represented. The cold hands on either side of Seth prevented him from escaping, and he doubted that he could even get away from the imposing figure in front of him.

"Yes… I have never smelt anything so rich, so… ah, words cannot describe how unique your scent is; only Stefan's could ever hold more draw." Vladimir pulled back just a little. "But if you are so important to Marcus that he would hide you away and protect you so fiercely, then why are you still such a weak creature?"

Seth bit his lip; he'd been lucky, he'd escaped the feel of a vampire's bite before. Only his sister had felt that bitter pain and she had been careful to guard it from the rest of the pack. He didn't want to experience that, especially not at the hands of Vladimir.

_Marcus…_

Seth drew some strength from the thought that the longer he kept Vladimir here, interested in him, the longer that he kept him from going after Marcus. It was stupid and irrational to think that he was protecting Marcus in some way because the ancient vampire was surrounded by the very talented members of the Volturi's guard; there was no way that a single vampire – no matter how strong they were – would be able to get past them.

But at that moment, he had nothing else that he was capable of but to try and stall the Romanian for as long as he possibly could in the hope that_** someone**_ would come after him. As slim a chance that was, it was all he could do. The room was too small for him to shift and be able to fight the ancient vampire on equal grounds, and he couldn't actually shift at all with the stupid monitoring anklet which he was forced to wear.

Vladimir was patiently waiting for an answer; he obviously seemed to think that there was some reason as to why Seth was still human if he was important to Marcus. When he still got no response, he continued his musings out loud.

"Well, I suppose Marcus never would have the stomach to be able to turn another – he always did have a soft spot for humans; that weak little sister of his had something to do with it, I'm sure – but what of Aro? I'm quite sure that he wouldn't wish to lose Marcus; not when he is so important to him…"

Seth was quite sure that Aro would never actually want to turn him; there were just too many variables involved that he didn't have answers to. And in any case, it wasn't as though the venom would actually be able to turn him… at least, he was pretty sure that it wouldn't; they hadn't exactly gotten it down to a science.

"He wouldn't." Seth was surprised at how strong his voice sounded, even if it was just a little bit rough. He'd never backed down from a threat before; he wouldn't start now.

That made Vladimir's smirk grow and he chuckled, "My, my, you actually can speak! And here I was afraid that you'd gone mute!"

Seth bit his tongue to keep himself from making a biting remark that could have earned him much more than just a spoken threat.

"Oh dear, I suppose I have frightened you a bit too much…" Vladimir drew back just a bit, crossing his arms across his chest. But that smirk never left his lips and the glint in his eyes which promised cruelty and darkness remained too.

This man was far scarier than Aro could ever be, even with all of his manipulations and falsely cheery demeanour, he could never capture the pure darkness of malevolence that Vladimir managed with just his presence. The ancient vampire standing in front of him had seen far more years than anyone in the Volturi and his experience spoke volumes of the cruelty and death that he had seen, or perhaps even ordered. Who knew who he had originally been in history? What roles had he played?

"But really, I simply do not have the time to be playing with you – as fascinating a creature as you may be – so I will ask: Where is Marcus?"

Seth chewed his lip before answering truthfully, "I don't know."

"Oh come now, I'm sure you know," Vladimir urged, his playful tone slipping just a little. His face fell just a little when Seth shook his head again, "Well, then I suppose we will have to go about this the hard way."

Even though he had nowhere to go, Seth drew back until his back was flush against the boarded up window; the rough boards digging uncomfortably into his spine. His heart resumed its frantic beating in his throat.

Vladimir had lunged forward before Seth had time to react; twisting the young wolf's arm behind his back and dragging him away from the wall all in what seemed to be one swift movement. He tugged on it threateningly, "I would be careful, little human, that you don't struggle too much or I might be forced to do something much more painful than this."

A quiet noise of surprise mingled with pain had slipped past Seth's lips when Vladimir had grabbed him; his grip was far too tight and it was only because of his strengthened body that nothing broke from the harshness of it. _It'll probably bruise_, Seth thought almost absently, _if it hasn't already._

"Well, there is always more than one way to draw out a stubborn mule," Vladimir murmured. "And if I must use this way, than so be it."

Roughly, he pushed Seth towards the door, exiting the small house. He kept Seth firmly in front of him, close enough so that Seth's back and captured arm brushed against the clothed chest of the vampire. Vladimir directed him towards a small alley, shoving Seth in first before following after him.

Dimly, Seth could make out flitting footsteps on the cobblestone street that they had just left; and shockingly, he could recognize them.

_Heidi!_

She had probably gotten word from Alec that Seth had left the palace and was in Volterra and had rushed to find him as quickly as she could. He could hear her calling out his name, softly but frantically, and the noise of several doors being thrown open. She would probably search the entire house before she was absolutely sure that he wasn't there.

A shriek suddenly ripped through the silence.

Seth felt his blood ran cold, _That was Heidi!_

Before Vladimir could stop him, Seth was yelling, "Heidi? Heidi are you okay?"

There were several loud bangs, followed by hissing and growling that Seth could make out as Vladimir roughly threw him to the side before launching himself back into the street and towards the sounds of a fight.

Seth's head narrowly missed the garbage can and he managed to avoid cracking it against the stone wall of the house, but he scraped up his hands on his arm in the process. Not to mention the sudden movement had given him a brief moment of vertigo. His arm throbbed and he glanced down, noticing the darkened splotches which had already begun to appear in the shape of hand prints.

Shoving that aside, Seth stumbled back to his feet and ran towards the street. He had to step back a little to avoid Heidi when she was roughly thrown in his direction.

Almost immediately she was back on her feet, taking up a defensive stance in front of Seth. Her fingers were spread and hooked like talons and she was poised as taught as a drawn bowstring.

Even though he couldn't see her face, Seth was sure that Heidi's eyes were darting between Vladimir and the newcomer, trying to discern which one was more of a threat; if it came down to a fight, she would do whatever possible to let Seth get away – including sacrificing herself.

The new vampire had very pale blond hair – it was almost the same shade of platinum as Caius', only maybe a little whiter – and he was very beautiful. Narrow features and pale skin; his lips were twisted up into a bloodthirsty smile as he watched them.

Vladimir, on the other hand, was glaring at Heidi with such murderous intent. He stood protectively beside the other vampire, and it clicked in Seth's mind that the blond vampire had to be Stefan. And the protective stance reminded him just a little of Jasper and Jacob; how the vampire would always angle himself slightly in front of the other…

_Oh. They're mates._

The two Romanian vampires exchanged a quick glance, and their posture relaxed just a little; although Vladimir remained a little tenser then he had been before. Heidi had probably been attacked by Stefan in the house – which was now missing its front door – and had fought back against him, only to be ambushed by Vladimir rushing to his mate's rescue.

And now it was practically two against one: Vladimir and Stefan against Heidi. It was clear who had the advantage.

"Well, it seems that Aro has been surrounding himself with beauties," Vladimir remarked, breaking the silence. The tense atmosphere, though, remained.

Heidi didn't respond with words, just a snarl.

"Oh my, I think that I made the kitten angry," Stefan cooed. He had a surprisingly soft but deep voice, with just the slightest inflections of an accent. If Seth hadn't been facing him down in an empty street about to be torn apart, he might have thought the vampire attractive. "But she was making such a ruckus! She kept going calling out for 'Seth,' and I just couldn't let her make so much noise… it would gather too much attention."

Realization dawned in Vladimir's eyes, "Ah, so your name is Seth, little human? I will certainly have to remember that."

Starting at the use of his name, Seth's eyes stared at Vladimir and he would have taken a step back if he wasn't already paralysed. Even with Heidi there, he knew that they were no match against the vampires in front of them; they'd be killed.

The thought of it terrified him, but not for reasons that would have been rational, given the situation.

_I really wanted to tell you Marcus._

"We don't have time for this right now, Vlad," Stefan purred; he slinked into a more offensive stance, licking his lips. "We came here to lure out the little mouse, not waste time with Aro's underlings."

"Of course, my love," Vladimir replied, his posture didn't change. "I'm quite sure that if we were to wound dear Seth here, we would be able to lure Marcus out quite easily."

Stefan seemed a little wary at those words, "You mean…?"

"Yes, I am very sure that this is the case. Of course, we should aim not to kill him – we will need him alive if we want Marcus to be willing to even listen to us."

"Of course. I suppose that you would like the honour?"

"Ah, you know me too well, my love."

With effortless grace, Stefan launched himself at Heidi, his hands coming forward and grasping at her wrists. The two of them fell to the ground in a growling mass of limbs as they struggled to gain the upper-hand. She tried to throw him off, but every time she managed to grasp at him, he would tear her hands away, trying to rip out her throat.

With Heidi distracted, it left Seth wide open for Vladimir. The ancient vampire lost no time as he lunged at Seth, slamming him into the wall with enough force to wind him.

Seth gasped as his head slammed into the wall, making his vision dance as he frantically tried to refill his lungs with air; his breathing was fast, shallow, and he was feeling incredibly light-headed. His hands scratched at Vladimir's ice-cold arms as the vampire had him pinned to the wall by the neck. It was a lot of force, but the vampire wasn't using enough strength to cut off Seth's air supply; not completely at least.

He hummed, "I could bite you here…" Lips ghosted along the curve of the nape of Seth's neck and then down to his shoulder, "But I think that would be too personal… it would be best to keep Marcus in as good humour as possible, given the situation."

All Seth got was a brief moment of warning before those fangs sank deeply into the flesh of his upper arm. For a second it was just the sting of something sharp sinking through his skin, but that only lasted a moment.

Then the burning started.

It felt as though the entire spot had been lit on fire, the feeling was just so intense. It didn't spread, but remained concentrated at the area, the pain becoming unimaginable as Seth screamed from it. He didn't even notice when the vampire's fangs slipped out of his flesh; all he was aware of was the pain.

His head was pounding from being both winded and from trying to comprehend the pain that he was experiencing, and his vision began to swim. The world titled, and Seth collapsed to his knees, one hand clamping over the newly inflicted wound on his shoulder as he tried vainly to stop the bleeding.

The burning got worse; almost instinctively, Seth began clawing at the wound in a desperate attempt to make it stop.

All it did was make the wound worse.

Dimly, he could make out Heidi screaming at him to stop over the pain, but it was just so bad. He couldn't stop. He wanted to make it stop.

His fingers were bloody from clawing at the wound, and the blood had started to drip through his fingers and onto the pavement. His shirt was quickly soaking through with blood, and it was sticking to his torso; after a few seconds, though, the pain began to fade, becoming more manageable and letting Seth think a little clearer.

With a hiss, he clamped his hand over the bloody wound, wondering why his regenerative abilities weren't kicking in immediately like they usually did. Despite the pain he was still in – the throbbing of the wound and blood continued to pump out – he noticed that Vladimir was now circling in front of him like a hungry cat which had cornered its prey and was waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

_I never thought that I'd wind up being some vampire's meal... _Seth kept his eyes on Vladimir, hoping that just maybe there would be an opening in the vampire's stance that he could slip through. He doubted that he'd get very far, but if he was lucky, than maybe he could lure both Stefan and Vladimir away from Heidi – he'd attracted the attention of the blond vampire too, with his blood.

Stupid, stupid scent.

No openings appeared in Vladimir's shifting position, and Seth got the feeling that even if he did try and run, the vampire would just drag him straight back. They needed him to act as bait for Marcus, so there was no way in hell that they were just going to let him walk away.

_Please, don't come Marcus. I don't care how much you might care about me; just don't come._

Just as Vladimir was inching closer to Seth, he was thrown back by a black blur that had shot out of another side street. The ancient Romanian vampire managed to remain on his feet; doing a bit of a mid-air flip to land back on his feet just like a cat not too far from Seth.

"M-Marcus!" _No! Please, please... I don't want to lose you._

But very luckily, the Volturi leader wasn't alone; Alec shot out of the same side street, his clothes a bit torn and his hair a disaster, but he was otherwise completely in one piece. Seth, though, was a little alarmed to note that the hems of Alec's pants looked a little charred, and that made his heart lurch with fear.

Stefan broke away from Heidi in the moment of the new arrivals, falling back to join Vladimir just as Heidi fell back to form a defensive line in front of Seth. All three of the Volturi vampires were emanating murderous intent, while both of the Romanians just looked a little surprised.

"Oh, the sparrow managed to come after me," Stefan laughed. "And I was so sure that I had pushed you into that fire too."

"Shut up you bastard." It was a shock to hear Alec sound so cold, so... _**furious**_. He was glaring at Stefan the hardest, his muscles tense and looking as though he just wanted to tear that smug grin off of the blond vampire's face.

"Tsk, tsk such language! Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?" Stefan taunted.

At that, Alec let lose one of the most terrifying snarls that Seth had ever heard; and he'd been exposed to newborn vampires.

But what Seth was having a hard time understanding was how Stefan had managed to get the upper-hand over Alec. The young vampire hadn't been made a prized member of the Volturi guard for nothing, and he had mentioned the fact that both he and his sister had been deeply coveted by Aro for a while. So what had happened?

"Alec..."

The young vampire didn't turn away from the Romanian vampires at Marcus' admonishing tone, "My apologies Marcus; I didn't expect that he would have that particular gift."

Stefan laughed, "Shields are rare, are they not? That's why your precious Aro was so desperate to capture me alive; he wanted what I had. It's too bad though – he wasn't interested in keeping my mate."

"Stefan, hush." Vladimir's words were harsh, but not overtly so; more like a gentle chiding to a much beloved lover who had perhaps shared a little too much information about something intimate.

The Romanian vampire turned his attention back to the assembled group of vampires that were in front of Seth. His eyes seemed to linger for longer than what could be considered necessary on the especially protective stance that Marcus had taken up in front of Seth. It was clear that whatever was revealed by it was of particular interest to him.

"It has been too long Marcus," Vladimir drawled. "I see that you are doing well; much better than when I last saw you. This passion is much more suitable for you than that apathy you displayed."

"Cut the pleasantries Vladimir," Marcus snapped. "We both know you didn't come here just to see how I was doing. What do you want?"

"Always so impatient, that's not very polite Marcus."

"You have murdered thirteen people in order to draw our attention; forgive me if I seem a little more than just irritated." The murderous rage was rolling off of Marcus in waves – Seth could feel it and it made him shudder, but he didn't feel fear at it.

_Weird_.

At that, Vladimir raised an eyebrow, "Still take offence at the loss of life, however do you live with yourself Marcus?"

To that, Marcus didn't answer, but he shifted his position just a little.

"You don't have much time Vladimir, so I suggest that you make your reasons for all of this very clear, very quickly."

"Hm, I only came to see how you were doing, but I can see that you are doing quite well, little one." He inclined his head at Seth. "You have very fine taste; I wish you the best."

With one final look, the two Romanian vampires turned and disappeared into another side street; Alec and Heidi took off after them.

The wound on Seth's arm was still bleeding profusely, the blood trickling through his fingers. But despite the loss of blood, he wasn't feeling light-headed. He decided to count that as a plus; the venom hadn't done anything that he could notice, except that his usually high regenerative ability was slower than usual.

"Seth, let me see your arm."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked over at Marcus who was standing a lot closer than he had been before. He was a bit startled, but looking into those red eyes of the vampire, he felt a surge of reassurance and he removed his hand from his arm. There was an uncomfortable stickiness on his fingers from the coagulated blood that had congealed from the bleeding.

Far too gracefully, Marcus fell to one knee in front of Seth, gently taking the young man's arm and hand in his, and glanced up at the other.

Then, very carefully, his tongue darted out and ran along the jagged wound in a smooth motion.

That familiar burning feeling tickled up Seth's arm, but this time it wasn't so strong; more like a mild heat instead of an inferno. But the feeling of the bleeding had stopped. A quick glance down told Seth that Marcus' venom had effectively sealed the wound.

Marcus pulled away, licking his lips once as he did. His eyes never left Seth's, and he slowly rose to his feet.

It felt as though the two of them were teetering on the edge of the cliff; the tension could be cut with a knife. Seth's breathing was heavier than usual, and he licked his lips, vaguely taking notice of the fact that there was a small trickle of blood escaping the corner of Marcus' mouth. His eyes lingered on it as he watched it drip down off the vampire's chin.

And Marcus seemed to notice Seth's fascination. He leaned in closer, one hand coming up to very gently cup the back of the wolf's head, the other slipping around his waist.

Seth wasn't stupid, but his body starting acting without his mind telling it too. His arms almost immediately wrapped around Marcus' neck, and he rolled forward on the balls of his feet, meeting Marcus halfway.

The moment their lips met it was like everything else in the world had ceased to exist.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I'm evil and I know it. Read and review?

Twilight.


	17. XVII Of Silences and Confessions

******Title:** Complexity**  
****Fandom:** _Twilight_ series**  
****Pairing:** eventual Marcus/Seth**  
****Part:** XVII. Of Silences and Confessions**  
****Words:** 3054 words**  
****Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.**  
****Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

******XVII. Of Silences and Confessions**

Seth was really, really confused.

For one, Marcus had just kissed him. Of course, he had kissed him back – his body had done so it seemed on instinct – and Seth would admit that nothing had felt so right before in his life. But at that moment, he was standing there, firmly encased in the vampire's arms; and the vampire in question was softly murmuring something in a language that he didn't recognize.

Again, he was struck with the thought that, _This feels so right._

When Heidi and Alec returned, empty-handed, Marcus had let him go, but his hand was still firmly holding onto Seth's. The pressure was comforting, especially when he saw the angry looks that the other two vampires were sporting; it had to mean that Vladimir and Stefan had managed to escape them.

Alec was clearly fuming at being defeated **_again_** by Stefan, but when Heidi saw the two of them, she looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened in realization and she grinned. She sent Seth a wink.

He blushed and immediately looked down at his feet.

"Sorry Marcus, they managed to get away," Heidi reported. "We managed to chase them towards the perimeter that Aro had set up, but they slipped through it... Jane's pretty livid that Stefan was able to render her useless."

Marcus sighed, nodding, "They'll be back; their business here is only just beginning."

"Good, that gives me a chance to get even with that bastard," Alec muttered darkly, arms crossed. He was scowling in the direction that the two Romanian vampires had disappeared to. Whatever Stefan had done to put Alec in such a sour mood, Seth didn't want to know.

Heidi, on the other hand, seemed to rebound pretty quickly from the near death situation. But her eyes lingered on the dried blood on Seth's arm, and the rather nasty wound that decorated it. Marcus' venom had sealed it closed, but it was still an ugly red mark on his skin.

"I'll go find some medical supplies," she interjected. "In the mean time, you three should head back to the palace! Let the others handle the clean up!"

She disappeared around another corner with a wave, leaving the three men behind her.

Seth was still blushing like a tomato, and Alec was still fuming. Only Marcus seemed relatively calm, but his tense muscles spoke otherwise; as did the protective way that he tucked the young shifter under his arm, keeping him pressed closely to his side as they turned back into the alley. Alec proceeded on ahead of them, removing the grate from one of the sewers.

"I'll go first, you drop down after me Seth," Alec ordered before disappearing down into the darkness.

There was silence, but then Marcus gently pressed the shifter forward. With a small smile, he asked, "Do you need help Seth?"

"Uh, no, I can manage..." He was still distracted; just looking at Marcus' face reminded him of that kiss... and how he wouldn't mind another.

Turning away from the vampire, he edged his way towards the sewer, sitting down on the edge before lowering himself into the opening and then letting himself drop. He fell for a few seconds before he felt cold arms catch him and set him on his feet.

"You're going to want to be careful; it's slippery down here," Alec's voice came from his right; Seth's eyes would take a little time to adjust to the darkness. "And watch your step, we don't want you actually falling into the water; it's just a little to your left."

Marcus joined them a few seconds later.

"If you would lead the way Alec."

"Right."

Seth felt a cold arm slide around his waist, gently pulling him against a cool body. Again, Marcus' scent filled his nostrils, and he let out his breath in a deep sigh. It was a comforting scent, and he loved it; just like the vampire it belong to.

Wait. Love?

He would have frozen in place if it wasn't for Marcus' arm around him, tugging him along through the winding sewers of the city. It was just... he knew that he'd been attracted to Marcus, that his feelings ran deeper than just a simple crush or something like that, but love? Seth had had no experience with the emotion whatsoever – and there was always imprinting to take into consideration, but thought, wouldn't he have noticed that? – so he was just a little hesitant about using the word to describe his feelings for the vampire.

That kiss, though, seemed to be telling him otherwise, as did every other part of him. Even his instincts were telling him that it was love; or something deeper than even that. And that draw that he'd felt to the vampire ever since he'd first met him... maybe he had imprinted; he really didn't know.

He wished he had someone there to offer him guidance on this sort of thing; he was still young, he was only eighteen with absolutely no experience with any affairs of the heart, and he was head over heels in love with a millennia old vampire.

"Are you alright Seth?"

He snapped out of his thoughts at that, his face warming up once again, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking..."

"About?"Marcus prompted as they rounded another corner, a flight of stairs becoming visible in the gloom. He carefully lifted Seth up, practically carrying him up the stairs.

"Uh well..." Seth wasn't sure if he was comfortable talking about what was happening between the two of them with Alec around, but decided what the hell, why not. The younger vampire would probably find out about it soon anyway. "I was thinking about us."

"I suppose we do have to talk about that..." Marcus' voice sounded thoughtful; Seth wondered if his mind had been lingering on thoughts about them too. He wished that he could see the vampires face at that moment, because he hated having no idea of what he was thinking about. Even now, Marcus was a bit of an enigma to him.

It was another thing he loved about him.

Again with the love; Seth was having this bad.

_I really do love him..._ Seth thought. _When Vladimir was about to kill me, I... I regretted not getting the chance to tell Marcus that... that I cared about him so deeply; that I loved him Man, I've got this bad._

The flight of stairs led up to a door, which Alec slid open, revealing one of the long basement passages of the Volturi palace.

Alec paused and bowed once to Marcus, "I'll go and clean up the library Marcus, if you need me then that's where I'll be."

The younger vampire disappeared to the right, while Marcus set Seth back on his feet and led him down a different passage way. This one led up and into the vampire's study; Seth absently noticed that it was the exact same one that he'd escaped through a few hours earlier.

Marcus' study looked practically untouched except for a broken vase lying in pieces near the door and the table that it had sat on lay on the floor. He guessed that it had probably been knocked down during the chaos of Alec and Stefan's attack and pursuit of him.

When Marcus saw the little reminder of what had happened shortly before, he just let out a sigh, before leading Seth out of the room and towards the sitting room. It was Seth's favourite room, and it seemed like the perfect venue for this long overdue conversation of theirs. The hallways outside, luckily, were untouched and looked exactly as how they'd been when he'd first left.

Once they were in the sitting room, the two of them sat down on the large sofa facing each other. Silence hung between them for a few moments before Marcus spoke.

"Seth, if what I did upset you, then you have my most sincere apologies. I shouldn't have lost control of myself like that, it was unforgivable."

Before he'd even finished his apology, Seth was shaking his head, "I'm not upset; you don't have to apologize to me for something that I wanted."

Oh that was good.

Wait, **_what?_**

"Seth, you... what?"

Marcus watched, confused, as his beloved shifter's cheeks took on a pinkish hue – when he started thinking of Seth like that, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to disagree when it was the truth – and waited for a response.

"I... I don't mind that you kissed me." _Nevermind that it was my first kiss._ "I enjoyed it; you don't have to apologize. In fact, I don't want you to feel bad about it at all; I wanted it just as much as you did. If you hadn't done that, I might have just jumped you."

Marcus blinked.

"Oh, um, nevermind that." Seth fiddled with the hem of his shirt. How to explain? "If you hadn't acted first, then I probably would have done the exact same thing."

"I see." Marcus hesitated, before asking, "Seth, I have to be honest... I want this to be more than just a single kiss. I want you to be in my life; sharing it with me."

Dark brown eyes found brilliant crimson ones, "Wh-wha...?"

A deep, unneeded breath was drawn, "Seth, I want you, if you would have me, that is."

Seth instantly understood the meaning. Marcus wanted him; he wanted him in his life – his existence, whatever, terminology wasn't important – **_Marcus wanted him_**. But he was still speechless; he watched as Marcus continued, dimly noting that the vampire was rambling now.

"I know that in this time, it's not exactly socially accepted for two men to be involved, but in my time that wasn't important. I want you, I love you – and I might have from the first moment that I saw you – and I want to share whatever you would call this existence of mine with you."

Every fibre of Seth's being was screaming at him to say yes; to jump into the vampire's arms and tell him that yes, that was what he wanted; that he wanted that more than anything. The words, though, seemed to be stuck in his throat.

Seth nodded dumbly; trying to tell Marcus without words that yes, he wanted that; all of it.

With shaking hands, he reached out, grabbing Marcus' hands in his and interlacing their fingers just as the vampire had done earlier. He could see the confusion in his eyes, but his voice was still stuck in his throat and was refusing to come out and say what he wanted it to. He'd have to resort to other means to tell him, since Marcus couldn't read minds.

His entire body was tense as he leaned forward and then let his lips crash down on the other's.

It was nothing like their first kiss. This one was achingly sweet and filled with promises of more and of affection; Marcus tensed at first, but then relaxed, letting himself get lost in the feeling of his love's lips on his. Warmth surged through him, and he felt Seth shift closer, moving against him.

Seth felt a spark shoot through him as he kissed the vampire; and just like before, everything clicked together inside of him. He belonged there, with Marcus, in the vampire's arms; his premonition was right. He had to be the one to come to Volterra. After all, he belonged with Marcus.

Eventually, though, he had to pull back for air. He was a little disappointed to note that the other wasn't even winded, while he was panting. And he was shaking too, but that didn't matter.

And it seemed his voice had returned, because everything was flowing past his lips suddenly in a torrent of words.

"Yes. Yes! Yes, I want this. I want this so badly that you can't even imagine; don't let me go, I want to stay here, with you..."

With a smile, Marcus placed his fingers over Seth's lips, quelling the unending torrent of words. "Thank you Seth... and I think I can understand better than you think." He pressed another quick kiss to the other's lips, "Just having you here with me... it's indescribable."

Seth smiled back and nodded. He glanced down at their hands; noticing all of the contrasts between the two of them.

Everything seemed to make sense now; the reason why he got along so well with vampires, everything just clicked into place. The loneliness that he'd felt before didn't hurt so much now. He could face the world, so long as he had Marcus at his side.

Cool fingers brushed his cheek, once again bringing him back into reality. He practically beamed at the vampire sitting across from him.

The two of them sat there for several moments that felt like an eternity, the afterglow of their confessions gradually fading, but there was still an undeniable connection between them now as they just sat there, watching each other in the silence.

Eventually, though, Seth broke it.

"Hey Marcus..."

"What is it Seth?"

"Where do we go from here?" he asked. It was the one thing that he wasn't sure of; he had nothing really to go off of. The only people he knew who had a relationship like this were Jacob and Jasper, and their connection had been almost instantaneous; there had been no build to a breaking point like his and Marcus'.

Marcus looked down at the wolf, scenting his nervousness, "I'm not too sure."

Seth chewed his lip; that wasn't really the answer he wanted...

"If you need to be alone, then..." Marcus stood up, prepared to leave if the other needed time to think things through without him there. He didn't get very far.

"No!" Seth grabbed onto his hands, tugging on them. He blushed, "No, I... I want you here with me. It's not that I don't want this, it's just..."

"Seth, if you want us to spend time courting each other, than that is fine. I will not ask you to do anything that you're uncomfortable with." He smiled at the young man, gently interlacing their fingers as he knelt down in front of him. "We can take this as slow as you want us to."

"Thanks." Seth laughed a little. "You know, I think that you're the only person I've ever heard use the term 'courting' when talking about a relationship; not even Jasper is that old fashioned, and he's from the deep South!"

Marcus frowned, "Why? Is there a problem with my words?"

"What? No, I got your meaning; it just sounded really old fashioned is all. No one calls it courting anymore." Seth smiled back; with that smile that made Marcus just want to melt. "But I think it's kind of appropriate coming from you."

"Well then, what is it called in these times?"

"Dating. People usually date those that they're interested in having a relationship with."

Marcus' frown grew deeper, "That sounds awfully casual to me."

"Yeah, well, it typically is," Seth replied, shrugging. "Most people tend to date a lot of people before they actually find the right person."

"Have you dated anyone?"

"No. I never had time before, and besides, no one really caught my attention so I never bothered with it."

At that confirmation, Marcus felt his jealousy abate, and instead, a swell of warmth that he couldn't put a name too welled up inside of him. It warmed him to no end to think that he was the first person who Seth saw in any romantic light at all; and to feel so deeply for him... yes, Marcus was extremely flattered indeed. And he had no intentions of letting Seth go, _ever_.

"I am... pleased to hear this."

Seth smiled, "That sounds like you're getting a bit possessive there Marcus."

"It's a part of who I am; I have no intentions of letting you go. I hope you know that Seth." He spoke with deadly seriousness, trying his best to make Seth grasp just how much he meant his words. But somehow, he knew that he needn't worry.

"I know; I hope you know that that works both ways."

"Of course."

Seth smiled, then wrinkled his nose when he realized that he was still covered in blood, "I think I need a shower..."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Forty-five minutes later, and Seth was dressed in clean clothes and his wound was bound with the medical supplies that Heidi had retrieved from Volterra. They'd been tucked away into the medicine cabinet, just in case they were needed further done the road.

The lube that she'd tried to hide in there hadn't escaped Seth's notice, and he'd had to hide his blush from Marcus lest the vampire ask him any questions about what it was that had him embarrassed. He wasn't up for having that conversation yet; it could wait. So instead he gave Heidi the dirtiest glare he could manage, and watched her scamper out of there with an evil grin on her face.

Well, that was what he got for having a vampire for a best friend; and a dirty-minded one at that.

He didn't need her interfering in his relationship with Marcus; they'd get to it when they got to it. He could be patient and wait. Besides, he was nervous enough about that aspect as it was; he didn't need reminding about it.

And it would be really nice to know beforehand how big – no, he wasn't going to go there. Not yet at least.

Right then, he was content with what he had. It had been a long day, and he was tired. A good night's sleep was in order; and he had that dinner with Sebastian and his wife to look forward to...

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Sorry about how short this chapter is and how long it took me to post it; I got distracted by a few other things. I hope that the general fluffiness and the joy at them FINALLY admitting their feelings to each other is enough to tide you all over until the next part; I'll be starting it ASAP, so it shouldn't take too long for me to post it.

Oh god, I'm tired now... oh, and check out the poll in my profile, m'kay?

Remember, review if you are going to favorite or alert this story.

Twilight.**  
**


	18. XVIII Remembrance and the Dreamscape

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XVIII. Remembrance and the Dreamscape  
**Prompt:** 012. remember  
**Words:** 4642 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XVIII. Remembrance and the Dreamscape**

When Seth woke up the next morning, he was a little surprised to find Marcus sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. It didn't take the vampire long to notice that he was awake, and when he did, he gave the young wolf a warm smile and a very welcome kiss to his temple. He couldn't think of any better way to wake up then this.

"Morning," he greeted, stretching as he sat up. He felt just a little uncomfortable with the sudden change their relationship had taken, but he'd always taken things in stride and played them by ear. This didn't seem any different; he slid his arms around the vampire's shoulders and returned the smile with a giddy one of his own. "You didn't sit there all night did you? That's got to be boring."

"Unlike you, Seth, I've been around a very long time," Marcus replied softly. "After so much time, a single night is nothing but a blink of an eye. Time flows differently for those of us who have existed for so long."

"And you're avoiding the question."

Marcus smiled and lifted Seth's hand from around his shoulder, pressing his lips to his wrist. "My apologies. I had other things that I needed to take care of; I haven't been here for long."

"Good." Seth remained perfectly still, but grinned, as Marcus leaned back and he pulled him forward so that their lips could meet in a very sweet kiss. It sent sparks through him just as the first time they'd kissed had, and Seth let out a little involuntary whine when Marcus pulled away.

Marcus smirked and left a short peck on the other's lips before pulling away, "You've slept most of the day away and we did promise Sebastian and his wife that we would join them for dinner tonight..."

Hearing that, Seth pouted, "That's not fair!"

"You did promise we would go, Seth," Marcus replied with a chuckle. "We still have a few hours until we're expected at their home. Is there anything you would like to do until then?"

Their conversation was interrupted by Seth's stomach making its presence known with a loud grumble. Seth blushed at the noise, and sheepishly answered, "I think I could use something to eat..."

Already one step ahead of the young wolf, Marcus gestured over at the dresser where a tray with a light lunch was resting. He'd obviously had the time to stop by the kitchen and have something made for Seth for lunch since he knew that the young man would be hungry when he awoke. He laughed when the wolf crawled over him and got off the bed, bringing back the tray and settling back on the bed before he started eating.

Much to Marcus' embarrassment, he noticed that what Seth had worn to bed were his own clothes. Now, he had no problem with this, what really got to him was the fact that his clothes were a little too big for the young man, and they were slipping off his frame, revealing tantalizing planes of tan skin.

The shirt that Seth was wearing was one of Marcus' older collared shirts that he hadn't worn for years, and it kept slipping off his shoulder. And every time it did, the vampire could feel the desire pooling low in his abdomen; it was all he could do not to press Seth into the bed and just... but no, he had to keep himself in check.

It was getting progressively difficult to keep his mind off of decidedly inappropriate thoughts involving the shifter. Especially since Seth was obviously very ignorant of the effect that he was having on the vampire as he pulled the collar of the shirt back up, covering himself up again.

Once he was done, Marcus took the tray from his lover and while he returned it and the dishes to the kitchen, told Seth that he should get cleaned up for their outing later.

It didn't take much prodding from Marcus to get Seth out of bed and looking through the clothes that Heidi had bought him to find something presentable and slightly dressy for their dinner that night. Marcus wouldn't be eating, but Seth would.

As he took his shower, Seth thought about what he could wear. Usually he didn't particularly care about his appearance, but he'd basically signed on as... he wasn't sure. He didn't actually know how Marcus would define their relationship, but he knew that it was serious. After all, vampires didn't get involved with humans – even shifters like himself – unless there was something deeper underlying their connection. He wasn't as well versed in the ways of vampires and their significant others as he was with his own kind, but he was sure that the connection was just as deep, if not more so.

Vampires had the potential to live forever if they weren't destroyed; which meant what bound them to each other had to be deep, maybe deeper then the connection between an imprinter and an imprintee.

Seth thought about that some more; he'd been surrounded by happy couples. He'd seen so many who were happy with their imprints, despite the work that had gone into them becoming a reality. And through the link that he shared with his pack members, he'd experienced a ghost of what that happiness and those feelings were.

Did he feel that way for Marcus? He wasn't too sure. He loved Marcus, of that he was sure, but did that mean he'd imprinted?

From what Seth knew about imprints, the feelings aroused by it were usually immediate. But... with Marcus, the only thing that he'd felt was an instantaneous draw to the other, but nothing else. All of his feelings had grown from that draw, but he wasn't sure if that meant that he'd imprinted. He really wished that he had his sister there, or even Jacob, to tell him if this was what it was.

When he'd finished his shower, Seth stepped out and dried himself off. He left a towel around his waist as he went to dig out an outfit from the closet. And just like before, he felt like he needed to make sure that he did Marcus justice; and now even more so, since they two of them were involved now. Now it mattered because he desperately wanted to reflect well on Marcus.

He wanted to make his vampire proud.

What he wound up choosing was something a lot more casual then he would have preferred, but given what Marcus wore everywhere he figured that it would be fine; it would be a contrast. Well, then again, Heidi had been the one to pick it out, and she'd given him absolutely no choice in the matter.

Obviously Marcus was staying away until he was presentable. When he actually gave that some thought, he'd been blushing when he realized that it saved them both an awkward conversation. They hadn't talked about sex; it hadn't come up, though it had been implied just a little. Seth was sure that they'd have to have a conversation about it at some point, but he wanted to put it off for as long as possible.

Definitely his virginity was thinking about that. He was more then a little nervous about what it would be like since all he knew was what little he'd heard from the others. Or what little he'd stumbled across on the internet.

And Marcus didn't seem anxious to broach the subject either, but then again, Marcus seemed to have what seemed like endless patience when it came to anything. The vampire would probably wait for as long as Seth needed, but even Seth knew that he couldn't put it off forever because even Marcus' patience would eventually wear thin.

Heidi was grinning like the cat who ate the canary, "Wow! I can't believe it! You and Marcus!"

He gave her a sarcastic look, "Stop acting so shocked Heidi; you saw this coming, I know you did. You're not fooling anyone."

"As true as that might be, I still never expected that it would happen so suddenly! I thought this was going to be a bit more gradual. See, I originally thought that the tension between the two of you would just grow and grow until one of you finally snapped and then, well, you know." She waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively with a smirk.

"Heidi, you're terrible." Seth was blushing the same color of the tomato; he knew exactly what she'd been implying. "And your 'hints' weren't appreciated."

"Really? I thought you'd find my little gift very useful. Maybe not now, but in the future."

"I... that...!" Seth took a deep breath. "We're nowhere close to that!"

"Psh, details!" Heidi waved her hand at him dismissively. "And besides, I'm sure that the two of you will get there sooner then you think. Trust me, Seth; I know you'll love it."

"C-can we stop having this conversation?"

"What? Are you embarrassed Seth?"

"Shut up Heidi."

"Oh, touchy are we? You know, getting–"

"Finish that sentence and I'll gut you."

"That's not very nice." Heidi pouted. "And here I thought I was your best friend; I just have your best interests at heart."

"And I'm asking you to drop it. It's not something I want to talk about; especially not with you."

"Oh, so if it was with Marcus, you'd be more open to it?"

"Heidi! Stop it!" Seth smacked his best friend's arm, and just wound up hurting his hand. He glared at the vampire, who just laughed at him in response. But she did drop the subject, which was a great relief to Seth.

"Well, are you looking forward to your date tonight?"

"It's not really a date; we're not going to be alone." Seth flopped back onto the bed with a sigh; he sort of wished Marcus would come back and chase Heidi off because as much as he loved her, there were sometimes where he longing for gossip and inappropriate subject matter really got to him.

"With some of Marcus' human friends?"

"Yeah; Sebastian and his wife. They invited him and extended it to me too; and since I said I'd go, he's coming with me." He noticed the thoughtful tone in her voice. "There something on your mind?"

"Well, you know, there was a lot of controversy, I guess, about Marcus' relationship with the family. He'd always gone to that book store, and since it's family owned, he exposed a bit of his nature to them. Aro really wasn't happy about that, and it wasn't until they had a promise from the family never to expose us, they can expect to have the Volturi's continuing patronage."

She'd glossed over the incident; it had been really tense and they'd come close to actually _**losing**_ Marcus for once because of his own stubbornness regarding the issue. It had been those unvoiced threats which had eventually resolved the situation to Marcus' benefit. And Aro was still pretty sore over the issue; there were times when there were subtly worded threats directed towards the family, but Aro would never actually act on them since Marcus would never rise to the bait.

And there was still the chance that it could possibly drive a wedge between Marcus and Aro. That was something that the vampire couldn't afford to do.

Luckily, though, Seth seemed to grasp that it wasn't something that she wanted to go in depth on. Heidi hadn't been very old when it happened, she'd only been with the Volturi for a decade at that point, and she didn't occupy the same position that she did now. All young vampires occupied the lowest ranks of the guard; now, she held one of the more coveted ones.

"Aro was pretty displeased earlier," Heidi added softly. "I'm pretty sure that Marcus told him about his intentions towards you..."

"How is that any of Aro's business?" Seth snapped, now feeling angry.

"To protect you from another misunderstanding," Heidi replied. "He knows that unless Aro knew beforehand that you and him were together, that he would have let Jane torture you whenever. As it stands now, you're pretty much untouchable, even for her."

"Huh?"

Heidi sighed, "Marcus is one of the leaders of the Volturi and you're his mate. Obviously you're going to demand a lot more respect because of that." She held up her hands, "I know, I know, you don't really expect that to happen, but I know you'll like this next part. It means that they can't touch you; hurting you would mean hurting Marcus, and that just won't be allowed. Aro won't dare try and hurt you now. It's too risky."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Heidi's words stuck with Seth, and he was a little distracted when he finally met up again with Marcus in the sitting room. But he shoved them out of his mind when he saw how happy the ancient vampire looked to see him.

He was sporting a warm smile when Seth came in, and immediately moved to make room for him on the couch where he'd been reading. Taking advantage of that, Seth flopped onto the couch and cuddled up next to Marcus, using the vampire's thigh as a pillow. Marcus smiled and carded his fingers through Seth's hair once he was settled down, and resumed his reading, content with just having the wolf there with him.

"What time is it now?" Seth finally asked after several long moments of silence.

"It's quarter to five right now." Marcus' fingers didn't stop their caressing of the young man's hair, and he never looked away from his book. He was perfectly at peace with both himself and his life, and that contentment passed over to Seth as well.

Seth yawned, he was still a little tired from all the excitement of the night before. He snuggled a little closer to Marcus before drifting off for a little nap before they left for Sebastian's place. There was nothing he needed to worry about right then because he knew that Marcus would wake him up when it was time for them to leave.

It didn't take long until the only noises in the sitting room were the sound of Seth's breathing and the steady beat of his heart along with the crackling of the fire. Marcus couldn't help but smile at just how peaceful his young love was as he slept; everything about him radiated peace and **_life_**, and it spilled over into him. It was a very new feeling for him, he hadn't ever felt like he did now. Not even with her, but... he didn't want to think about that.

He'd promised himself that he would let his past go and move on – or, at least, as best he could – for Seth's sake; he wouldn't impose his past on his new love. Seth deserved that from him. He wouldn't let him live in the shadows.

_Would you be happy with this? Would you be alright with how I've moved on?_

It was a little disconcerting for him to realize that he hadn't thought of her for months, really. Ever since Seth had come into his life, his thoughts had all revolved around him. She no longer held dominance over his thoughts. He had never thought that possible; she'd always lingered in them before. Everything had reminded him of her.

"_I would like very much to spend my eternity with you."_

"_As would I, but Marcus, eternity is a rather long time to spend with one person. Perhaps we will be happy now, and perhaps we will happy for decades or centuries down the line; but I do not believe that we will always be together in happy. No matter how much we may love each other."_

He smiled at the memory. Yes, he had been happy with her, he had been happy through the stretches of decades that they had spent together as a couple. And she had possibly seen this coming; had she still been with him, he knew that she would have been happy for him – happy but at the same time sad that their time together had come to an end – and would have encouraged him to find his happiness.

"_I do love you Marcus. I would always want you to be happy, even if that happiness does not involve me. So please, remember that if nothing else."_

She would have been happy for him, she was always happy and bright and cheerful. She always had a kind word for everyone and was always so good to everyone who she might; mortal and immortal alike. Marcus had never believed that she was meant for a life of darkness and filled with blood. No she was meant for a life in the light where her kindness could always be rewarded and recognized.

And Marcus had always lingered on his memories of her. She had brought a pinprick of light into his darkness and had pulled him out of the dark cruelty that his life had been with the Romanians. With her, he had been content with the Volturi.

Until her death, he had known no better happiness. Except for his memories of his mortal life with his sister, the time he had spent with her had been the best of his eternal life. And now, he had found something... which brought him back to that light, back to it and intensified it.

Seth made him happier then even how she had made him feel. And Marcus loved him; loved him very much. He wouldn't give Seth up for anything, but he wanted to give him everything. Marcus didn't want to keep him trapped in the darkness which was his life; he wanted him to be able to experience the day that he had grown up in too.

Everything was different now.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Seth was pretty sure that he was dreaming. For a number of reasons.

For one, he knew that he'd been asleep in the sitting room with Marcus and not in a meadow which he didn't recognize; it certainly wasn't one that he'd seen growing up around Forks and La Push. It was too pretty and idyllic, there was none of the rugged qualities that he knew.

That and the fact that the sky was _**purple**_ of all things. He was pretty sure **_that_** wasn't normal.

Looking around, Seth couldn't see anyone else in the clearing with him. He was resting in the grass in what he assumed was roughly the center of the clearing. There didn't seem to be trees ringing the clearing either, just a light grey mist which swirled endlessly at its edges. It set him on edge, but he didn't feel afraid; just anxious, like something was about to happen.

Seth hadn't been sitting there long when he noticed that there was something in the mist. At first, it was just a darker blur, but as it made its way into the clearing he realized that it wasn't an it, but a young woman.

She probably wasn't much younger then he was; and even with her dark hair and crystalline green eyes, they were far too wide and innocent. As she came closer to him, Seth could make out more details about her. She was very petite and looked rather delicate; she was thin but didn't look particularly ill. The only thing she was wearing was a thin summer dress that was a very light shade of lavender; she wasn't wearing shoes or any other accessories.

Once she was only a few feet away from him, she stopped and smiled at him, "Hello Seth. It's good to finally meet you."

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

She giggled; it was a sweet, musical sound. "Yes Seth, you are dreaming. But you know, dreams can be a funny thing."

There was a knowing tone to her voice as she spoke that only confused Seth more. Obviously she knew what was going on, and she knew who he was, which was kind of weird. Seth didn't recognize her, although, there was something about her that was familiar.

"It's alright if you don't know who I am," she smiled. "I guess the family resemblance isn't as strong as it used to be."

_Family resemblance?_ That just confused Seth even more. He would admit that the girl looked familiar, but he couldn't find the reason for why.

Very surprisingly graceful movements, she came over to him and sat down beside him, "I've been watching you for a while now. I was... a little surprised, but now that I've seen you and my brother together... I don't think that anyone else is better suited for him."

_Brother? Wait..._ "You... you mean _**Marcus**_?"

She blinked at him, "Of course, who else would I be talking about?"

"Oh, ah, um..." Now this was awkward. Seth wasn't sure if it was just his mind hallucinating or if this was actually happening to him. But having the long deceased sister of his love appear in his dreams in a rather trippy looking meadow was definitely not something that had ever happened to him. And he was really hoping that it would never happen again.

Katia smiled again; it felt a little like she was reading his thoughts, "Like I said, dreams are strange things; it's one of the few times when the lines between the realms where I exist and where you live can be crossed. I've been waiting for this chance for a while."

"Huh?"

"I've been waiting for Marcus to come to you with his feelings. I didn't believe that it would be appropriate for me to come to you before then. And now that he has, I cannot describe just how happy I am for him, for the both of you." And her smile seemed very genuine; her happiness was radiating out of her in waves. Her eyes were practically glowing. "You're a very lucky person Seth. I hope you know that."

He couldn't help but blush, "Yeah... I know."

"Marcus is very lucky to have you too. I don't think that I've ever seen two people who are better suited for each other," Katia continued, her voice growing more emotional as she spoke. "And for what you have done for my brother, I can never repay. Thank you; thank you so much."

As she was finishing her little speech, Katia threw her arms around Seth's shoulders and sobbed a little. The young man was so startled that it took him a few seconds before he was able to return the embrace, letting the younger girl sob into his shoulder, silently listening to her mumble out her thanks over and over again.

He was so distracted by her, that he didn't notice the arrival of another person.

This woman was older, probably in her early or mid twenties, and her hair was a rich chocolate brown that cascaded down her back in gentle waves. Her face was heart-shaped and there was a warm and welcoming smile on her face as she slowly approached them.

Much like Katia, she was dressed very simply. And like Katia, the dress she wore was rather dated; the only difference was that hers was a deep burgundy color that brought out the paleness of her skin and the deep blue of her eyes. Very slowly, she approached the two teenagers.

It wasn't until she was only a few feet away that Katia gently pulled away from Seth and wiped her eyes on the back of her hands. When she noticed the older woman, she smiled, "You actually came."

The older woman returned the smile, folding her knees and sitting down just a little ways in front of them. "Of course. I would not want to miss the chance to meet young Seth."

As she said that, she turned her attentions to Seth, smiling warmly at him, "It is such a great pleasure to meet you, Seth."

"Uh, it's nice to meet you too..." Seth replied, somewhat awkwardly. He had no idea who this woman was, but Katia obviously knew her. He shook her hand when it was offered, noting that it was cool to the touch which was very much unlike Katia's, which had a warmth to it.

"Do not worry, or fear me, Seth," the woman replied. "I just want to speak with you."

"Um, I don't mean to be rude or anything but... who are you?"

The woman smiled, a glint of amusement in her eyes, "Oh, right. I suppose that you have no inkling of who I am. My name is Didyme."

It wasn't a name that Seth was familiar with; he hadn't heard anyone use it since he'd been in Volterra. The differences, though, between her and Katia were huge. Katia's touch had been warm, human; whereas, Didyme's touch had been cool, like the vampires he was so well acquainted with. He wasn't sure what that meant, or what the dream was about; although, he was catching on quickly.

Didyme reached out and took both of Seth's hands in her much cooler ones, "Ah, you are so warm... it has been too long since I have felt it; the warmth that comes with life."

In Seth's mind, something clicked. "You were a vampire."

"I was," Didyme confirmed. "But that is not why I have come to you. Katia came for the same reason."

The young teen smiled, "We wanted to congratulate you, and wish you luck. But we also wanted to tell you that we've got no grudge against you from taking Marcus' focus away from our memory; he deserves to be happy."

Everything seemed to click together in Seth's mind; these were the two women who had been in Marcus' life, the ones who had been the most important to him until he had come along. It was a little surreal to be confronted with this, because he had heard of Katia – who was always spoken of with terms of endearment and love – but he had never heard of Didyme before. The memory of her must have been too painful for Marcus to speak of.

"You will take good care of him," Didyme added. "You have nothing to fear; I have never seen him love as he does you. Not even I could ever arouse so much passion in him, and I always knew that he would find the one who could."

Katia was still at Seth's side, taking one of his hands from Didyme and giving it a comforting squeeze. "Trust us Seth. We know Marcus; we've watched over him for so long and we knew him before. I have never seen my brother love anyone as he does you. It's alright, you have my blessing."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek with a warm smile. Dimly, Seth realized that she was fading away, as was the scenery around them. Did that mean that he was waking up?

Just as Katia had done, Didyme leaned forward and pressed her lips to his other cheek, "And you have mine as well. I was right all along; you are his mate."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Sorry about how long it took for me to post this; I was out of town for the past few days and my laptop had no internet connection, so I was just typing away on whatever work I had on hand that needed to be finished. I'll try to get back into the swing of regular updates since I'm on holidays right now, not going to make any promises though. Again, sorry about how long this took to be posted; I hope you liked it, trippy dream sequence and all.

Okay, now this is starting to get annoying. **Stop asking about Seth shifting; it's explained in the fic why he has not shifted and why he won't be in the foreseeable future. So stop asking.** Please don't PM me about updates either.

Anyway, remember, review if you liked it, and especially if you're going to favorite or alert this story, thanks!

Twilight.


	19. XIX Dinner Party

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XIX. Dinner Party  
**Prompt:** 016. amuse  
**Words:** 4275 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XIX. Dinner Party**

Sebastian and his wife's home was above their little bookstore, and was reached through a narrow wooden door and up a narrow flight of steps which led to the second floor, which was the first level of their home. Together, the two of them had raised two children; both sons who Marcus hadn't seen in years. He knew that they were studying abroad, one was in England and the other was in America.

Even though the Romanians had left Volterra and the mysterious murders had stopped, the streets of Volterra were still practically deserted when Seth and Marcus made their way into town and towards Sebastian's home. The few people who were out on the streets were congealed in groups on the sidewalks and making their way home quickly.

And Seth wanted to be close to Marcus, so he was sticking very close to the ancient vampire's side. His fingers were entwined with Marcus' and he was smiling to beat all hell. That euphoric feeling of being in love still hadn't worn off – it had only been a few days – so his heart was still soaring in his chest.

Marcus had woken him up from his nap with a gentle shake and a warm, lazy kiss that Seth kind of wished would have lasted longer. He hadn't told the vampire about the dream – if it had been a dream – because he wasn't sure how to even broach the topic with him; he still didn't have any idea of who Didyme was and what she'd meant to Marcus. If it was something that Marcus wanted to share, then he'd wait for the vampire to tell him about.

And Marcus seemed much more cheerful now then Seth had ever seen him. Having their relationship out in the open like this seemed to be a great relief to the vampire, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was in love with Seth at all.

They were met at the door of Sebastian's home by the man himself, he was leaning out the door and clearly waiting for them. A wide smile spread across his lips when he saw them, "Marcus! Seth! It's a pleasure that you could make it!"

"Of course we're here," Marcus replied. "We did say that we'd come; I wouldn't let anything stop us from coming."

"Yes well, I thought that maybe with all this murder business, you might be a little concerned about Seth," Sebastian replied. He looked over Seth, "You look a little pale Seth."

"I'm fine." Seth smiled, "I just had a run-in with some not-so friendly individuals; left me a little shaken. But don't worry, I'm fine, really."

"I heard about some sort of commotion happened," Sebastian said as he let them in and led them up the stairs and into the home. "Some people saying there was some sort of confrontation; they found a bit of blood too once someone was brave enough to go out and see."

Marcus and Seth looked at each other; they knew what Sebastian was talking about.

"But you probably know all about that," Sebastian replied. "You Volturi members are always aware of what's going on around these parts; no matter how unimportant it might be. Always knowing what Fia wanted for her birthday or the sort of book that a particular client was looking for; don't know where I'd be without you."

"You know how Aro is about Volterra," Marcus replied, removing his shoes at the door. "He considers this place his own; nothing happens without him knowing about it."

"Ah, what was it this time? Vampire business? Couple of ruffians?"

"Vampire business," Marcus replied. "Our kind holds grudges for a very long time."

Sebastian nodded his head knowingly, "Of course. People can be like that too; and you'd better be careful, Marcus, and not get Seth mixed up in all of this."

"Think I'm already involved," Seth chirped. "But it's okay. I don't mind it too much; I can take care of myself and Marcus is always there for me if I need him."

He left his shoes beside Marcus' on the mat near the door and followed the two older men into the comfortably furnished and definitely homey living room. The kitchen opened onto the living room and the adjacent dining room, revealing an elderly lady around Sebastian's age bustling around inside. She peeked out over the bar which doubled as a kitchen table.

"Bastian! Why didn't you tell me Marcus was here?" The woman wiped her hands on her apron, coming out of the kitchen. She brought with her the strong smell of cooking – spices and baked goods – which reminded Seth of home and his own mother. There was a warmth and vibrancy to her face that belied the harsh set of her mouth as she gave her husband a chastising look.

Marcus smiled warmly at her, "Now, now Fia. I'm sure you were busy preparing what is likely to be a wonderfully prepared dinner."

"Oh, I definitely hope that you like it! And Bastian! Show your wife a little more courtesy! You could have told me they were here and I could have cleaned up! Made myself a little more presentable," Fia continued. "It's wonderful to see you again Marcus; it's been far too long! You need to come more often! Especially if you're going to be so talkative!"

Fia navigated her way around the furniture with ease, coming over to Marcus and giving him a very big hug in greeting and kissing both his cheeks, "Something tells me that you've finally found something to brighten those eyes of yours and put a little spring in your step."

To that, Marcus smiled and gently pushed Seth forward, "I believe that Sebastian has mentioned Seth to you, but I would like to formally introduce the both of you. Fia, this is Seth Clearwater; Seth, this is Fia."

"Hi." Seth didn't the chance to say anything else; he held his hand out to Fia, but she ignored it and instead pulled him into a bear hug. The strength behind it was a little surprising coming from the petite lady; but it sent a feeling of warmth flowing through Seth, it reminded him of his home without being painful.

"Such a pleasure to meet you Seth! If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Fia was saying in a rush, her face beaming as she pressed her lips to each of his cheeks in greeting. "Aha, I can tell! So it's you I have to thank for finally bringing Marcus out of his shell!"

At that point, Seth's face was bright red, "I..."

"Now, now, don't be humble," Fia continued, bustling around and making sure that the both of them were comfortably seated on the couch and handing Seth a drink. "I can see it in the way you two look at each other; I'm not so old that my eyesight is failing me."

Sebastian chuckled, taking a seat in one of the comfy armchairs across from them. He gratefully accepted the glass of wine that his wife handed to him, "My dear, I don't think that scaring Seth is the right way to go about showing off your keen insight."

"Oh shush Bastian!" Fia retorted, smiling though. "I'm just saying that I'm very glad to see that Marcus has finally opened up and is happy for once. I was starting to get worried about you, you know," she directed her attention to Marcus, "since you never brought anyone to the store or to visit us. You never seemed happy and you hardly spoke; it's good to see you opening up."

Marcus rewarded the woman with a warm smile, "Seth has changed how I look at a lot of things, and I'm very grateful to have him in my life."

By this point, Seth was flushing from the compliments. It reminded him of the cryptic comments that Heidi had dropped about Marcus and how he'd changed since Seth had dropped into his life. But he couldn't imagine the vampire any other way then the way he was; anything else just wasn't Marcus.

"Um..." _Very articulate there Seth._ Dealing with compliments and praise had never really been his strong point.

"Don't be embarrassed Seth," Marcus murmured, his lips suddenly right beside his ear and his voice pitched so low that only the wolf could hear him. "You've given me back something that I'd lost."

Shifting uncomfortably, Seth could feel his cheeks warm even more. It was all a very new experience to him, knowing that he was the reason for why Marcus had changed from however he'd been before. And how he now seemed to be the center of the vampire's universe – just like how Marcus had become his. He wondered briefly if this was what it meant to imprint, but his memories had faded just a bit; the times before he'd come to Volterra weren't as vibrant as they'd once been.

It hurt, a little, to realize that.

Marcus pressed his lips to Seth's temple, whispering still, "It's alright."

And somehow, it seemed like it would be.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Both Fia and Sebastian were excellent hosts, and Seth felt right at home. Sebastian would sometimes regale them with tales of his youth or tell them about what his son's were up too; Fia continued chatting with Seth about his family, his friends, Marcus, anything. The comfortable atmosphere set him at ease, and the warmth emanating from Fia and her demeanour made him feel at home; even though her English was a little rough around the edges.

"Dad passed away a couple of years ago," Seth replied. "Mom was pretty torn up about it, but she's a really strong person so she tends to hide things... sometimes I couldn't be sure if she was taking it harder then I thought. But she and Billy have been getting closer so..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Fia reached across the table, taking Seth's hand in hers and giving it a comforting squeeze. "The loss of someone you love is never easy, believe me, I've seen my fair share of it over the years."

Seth nodded, managing a weak smile, "I miss him, I really do, but things were really hectic when he died... I think that's how mom managed to get through it – by focusing on something else and pouring all of her energy into that. She still had Leah and I to think about."

"Tell me about Leah, she sounds like a very nice girl."

The mention of his sister's name brought a lump into Seth's throat, but he swallowed it and continued on. "Yeah, she's probably the best big sister you could ask for. I mean, I never appreciated her mothering me while we were growing up cause I always felt like it was just her babying me because I was her little brother; but now... I think I can understand why. She just wanted to protect me; she's pretty fierce when it comes to family."

"It's a maternal thing," Fia replied. "Women are like that; we protect what we love no matter what. Now, I'm not saying men aren't like that either – they are, but they just go about it in a different way – but it's definitely very much a feminine trait."

Sebastian snorted and interjected, "As is the nosiness and the pushiness and the need to know what's going on in everyone's life."

"It's not nice to insult your wife," Fia sniffed. "And besides, haven't I told you that I only do that because it's important?"

"So you said when you made it absolutely well known that you didn't approve of that French girl? What was her name? Heather?"

"It was Cheryl," Fia replied. "And let me remind you, Bastian, that you weren't particularly fond of her either. I do remember you saying that something seemed off about her."

"But I was perfectly willing to let our son figure that out for himself, and not meddle needlessly in his own personal affairs."

"I'm his mother; it's my job to meddle. And besides, I was right about her in the end, wasn't I? Didn't I say that she was a fiend?"

"I don't think that you thought that in the criminal sense. As I recall, our son was pretty heartbroken when he learned – from you, I might add – that his love was a career criminal," Sebastian sighed. "He wasn't too pleased when you told me; I do believe that he didn't believe you until he actually found out for himself."

"With a warrant slapped in his face and the police telling him that he'd be charged with accessory if he didn't let them arrest her," Fia sniped. "At least now I'm content with how things are."

"Until the next young lady comes along," Sebastian muttered under his breath. His wife missed it, but Seth and Marcus didn't and exchanged a small smile with each other.

The rest of the evening was spent in pleasant conversation in the little sitting room, with Marcus and Seth sitting on the couch at Fia's insistence so that she could watch the two of them – Marcus had chuckled at that – and with Fia and her husband sitting on the two armchairs across from the other couple. Seth couldn't help but think that they were a personification of that saying 'like an old married couple.' It was pretty cute, he had to admit.

Seth was a little disappointed when they finally did have to leave at quarter past eleven, but Fia managed to extract a promise from the both of them that they'd come again some time in the near future. She'd also made sure to let Seth know that he was always welcome with them if he ever was in need of a place to stay.

"I don't think that I'll need that, but thanks," Seth replied, smiling.

"Oh come now, we all have our little lover's spats," Fia responded, with a knowing grin and a nudge to her husband. "We get over them easily enough, but love is never easy."

"I know." _I've seen enough of how difficult it can be to know._ "Still, I don't think I'll need that offer, but thanks for offering it."

"You're always welcome here Seth, and that goes for you too Marcus."

"Thank you, both of you," Marcus replied, his smile soft and warm. "It was a very enjoyable visit."

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Seth added. "I hope that we'll be able to do it again sometime."

"Oh believe me," Sebastian interjected. "If Fia had her way, you'd be here every other night."

"If my health permitted it," Fia replied, dramatically placing her hand over her heart. "I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be, despite what my husband might say about my 'unlimited' amounts of energy."

There was a lingering bit of sadness in Marcus' eyes as they said their final goodbyes, and Seth had a pretty good idea of what it was about. He'd be sad too, to see both Sebastian and Fia go; they were both so full of life and energy that it didn't seem quite fair, but then, they'd seemed to accept it too. It didn't lessen the pain, though, as Seth thought about it.

No one was on the streets of Volterra apart from the two of them. Even though the curfew had been lifted since the immediate danger had passed, people were still extremely wary about venturing out during the late hours of the night; especially given the reports of an altercation having taken place.

Seth was tucked comfortably up against Marcus' side, with one of the vampire's arms around his waist. Despite the cool night temperature and the vampire's natural chill, Seth wasn't cold at all. It was probably a combination of his own high body temperature and the wine that he'd been drinking earlier too.

He still felt wide awake.

"Hey Marcus?"

"Hm? What is it?" The vampire seemed a little lost in thought.

"What do you do at night?" He'd admit he was curious; he knew that Marcus sometimes had 'business' that he had to deal with that he wasn't allowed to know about, but other than that, whatever Marcus did to while away the night hours was a mystery to him. And he was a little curious, considering the fact that he was wide awake at the moment and didn't feel like going back to sleep.

Marcus let out a thoughtful hum, "That depends. Sometimes I have business involving the Volturi that I need to deal with, other times I just spend it thinking, and other times I'll find something to occupy my time; sometimes I'll write or read or take a walk if I feel like it."

He looked over at Seth, "Why the sudden curiosity?"

"I was wondering... could we do something together? I'm really not that tired and I don't want to go back to sleep," Seth replied. He was quite proud of the fact that he didn't blush under the vampire's intense scrutiny.

Marcus smiled at him, "Of course. I don't mind. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to do?"

"A walk maybe? I haven't had much of a chance to see the grounds." Seth smiled, "I haven't been outside much so that would be something I'd like to do... and besides, at night I know there's not going to be the distraction of you sparkling everywhere."

"Of course. The grounds are very extensive," Marcus replied. "You still should sleep later, though, I don't want you to throw off your body's schedule on my account."

"I've kept weirder hours," Seth chirped, bouncing up onto the balls of his feet to press a quick kiss to Marcus' lips as they entered the front gardens of the Volturi's home. "I'm pretty good at rebounding from them, so don't worry too much about me sleeping."

"I may not be your mother Seth, but your well-being is extremely important to me," Marcus replied. "You need sleep and I don't want you to start accustomed to being nocturnal."

The two of them ambled along a gravel path along one side of the palace, following it as it wound through the gardens. The paths were lit by interspersed lights even though the vampires who called the palace home probably didn't need them; Seth thought they were probably more for decorative purposes then actually functionality. Not that he particularly needed them, but they were a nice reassurance nonetheless.

Moonlight also filtered down through the clouds, giving the entire area a sort of ethereal feel. It also felt a little like something out of a romantic movie; Seth was pretty sure he'd seen something kind of similar to this in one of the movies that his sister had watched often before the whole wolf business had blown up in their faces.

He couldn't really see much of the gardens anyway, despite the lights and his own heightened eyesight. But what really mattered was Marcus at his side who was quietly talking to him about the historical significance about some of the plants and objects which littered the palace's extensive grounds.

"If you ever wanted to know more about the plants themselves, then I'll have to leave you at Alec's mercy," Marcus was saying. "He is far more of an expert than I in this field, and it also happens to be his passion; he could tell you the significance and meaning of any of the plants which grow here, their properties and whether or not they're useful."

"Heidi said something like that," Seth replied. "She also warned me that he tends to get carried away when it comes to plants."

Marcus chuckled, "I think we all can be like that, when it's something that we love and are passionate about."

"I've never really felt like that, so I don't really know. I'll trust what you say about it." Seth blushed just a little, "I like hearing you talk about things though, it's really... well, it's nice."

"Really?" Marcus asked, surprised that Seth found his ramblings either entertaining or just endearing. "I was under the impression that I tend to come off sounding boring."

"Nope, I find it engaging," Seth replied. "It's nice... listening to you talk about something that you genuinely feel passionate about. And I'm really happy that you want to share that passion and joy with me; you don't know how good that feels."

"I think I understand that better than you think. When you're happy, I feel happy too, that I'm not so much of a... failure, you could say... and it makes me feel less guilty about you being here."

If it weren't for Seth's superhuman hearing, he would have missed the last part of what Marcus said. And it cut him to the bone; it felt as though ice was being dumped into his veins at that.

He stopped moving, staring up at Marcus with wide eyes and tears burning in them; his throat felt tight as his stomach dropped.

"What do you mean by that? Do you... not want me here?"

"That's not what I meant," Marcus murmured; Seth could hear the familiar broken tone creeping back into his voice, the same as when he'd spoken of his sister. "I feel... guilty that you were brought here against your will, and now I'm keeping you here too."

"I'm here because I need to be," Seth replied, the ice slipping into his tone unconsciously. He saw the hurt slipping into Marcus face, and the built welled up in him, stopping his temper right there; he'd never had it in him to hurt anyone anyway. "It's not your fault that I'm here Marcus, or that I can't leave. That's completely out of my hands and yours. But it's because of you that I've found that it's not that bad – you and Heidi and Alec. I... I miss home and I miss my friends and family, but I don't... I don't think I could trade you for getting to go back. Not unless you go back with me."

Very carefully, as though he was afraid that Seth would flee the instant he touched him, Marcus reached out and took the wolf's face in both of his hands. It caused him pain to see the eyes he loved so much glittering in the faint light with unshed tears, but he shoved that away.

"I want to do whatever makes you happy, even to the cost of my own happiness."

"Don't say things like that," Seth replied, the harsh sting softened by the fact that he leaned into the vampire's touch; nuzzling at the other's hand on his cheek. "I wouldn't be happy if you weren't there with me. Wherever you are is good enough for me, I don't care if I have to put up with homicidal vampires who are out for blood just so long as you're there with me."

"Seth, the Romanians aren't something you should take lightly," Marcus chided. He leaned in, letting his forehead rest against Seth's as he dropped his hands, taking the other's in both of his. "I know both Vladimir and Stefan well enough to know that they are not done yet. I fear for what they may do to you for 'bewitching' me so."

"Let them come," Seth replied. He knew he was being stupid and reckless, but that didn't matter. "I'd walk through hell and back for you. I love you."

He leaned up and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to Marcus with a soft but insistent pressure. As stupid as it sounded, he really didn't care that Vladimir and Stefan probably were plotting something evil involving him in some misguided effort to getting Marcus back; he'd do whatever it took to stay with Marcus and keep him happy.

The kiss was sweet and lingering, Seth twining his arms around Marcus' neck as the vampire's settled around his waist, pulling him flush against the cold body. It didn't matter.

When they pulled back, Marcus kept Seth close, his forehead still against Seth's as he listened to the wolf's heavier breathing, his heart beating strongly in his chest. He was so vulnerable, so human... he couldn't bear anything happening to him. It would destroy Marcus just as surely as if his own flesh was torn or burned.

He sighed, pressing his lips to Seth's once, twice, three times. He didn't want to let him go.

"I have to tell you..." he murmured gently against the other's lips. "That you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I... I love you, and I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."

Seth smiled, "Good, because I don't want to be away from you either."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I'll give much love and a special mention next chapter to whoever picks out the two references that I stuck into this chapter. One is to a video game, and the other is to a book – that I basically quoted verbatim for something that a character said. So go ahead and try and figure out the references or quoting that I did.

Holy crap, sorry that this took me so long; I got caught up in a few other things that kind of stole my attention, but I'll try to update sooner so that I can finish more of this fic before my schedule goes and murders me in the fall. But um... yeah, sorry about this; I'll try to update sooner with the next part. This fic is still a long way from being finished...

Anyway, I've been nominated for the TwiSlash Awards so you should go check that out; voting starts on September 14, and I've had seven fics nominated! Holy shit, you guys love me that much? Wow. Thanks I love you all!

As always, review or comment if this was enjoyed!

Twilight.


	20. XX Meeting in the Garden

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XX. Meeting in the Garden  
**Words:** 3854 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XX. Meeting in the Garden**

"What do you feel like doing today?"

Marcus gently carded his fingers through Seth's hair, unable to stop a small smile from pulling at the corners of his lips. He had Seth's head resting on his shoulder and the young man had a book opened in his hands that he'd been reading for a while but hadn't been actively paying attention to for a long stretch of minutes. And he seemed to have drifted off too.

Starting at Marcus' sudden question, Seth tilted his head back to look up at the vampire's face. He frowned and blinked up at him slowly, shrugging off the vestiges of sleep that had been trying to claim him for the past few minutes.

"Not really, I'm actually feeling kind of tired." He closed the book and set it aside, curling closer to Marcus and sliding his arms around the vampire's waist. The cool that radiated from his skin was comforting to Seth in the mid-afternoon heat. Even though autumn was on the horizon, it was still rather warm and Seth's naturally high temperature didn't help either.

"You've been feeling rather tired lately." Marcus frowned, "Do you think that it might be a–"

"No, it's healed just fine," Seth replied, shaking his head. "There's still a scar there and it looks pretty ugly but I haven't felt anything from the wound since."

"Seth, while I am concerned about the wound itself I'm wondering if maybe it's a side-effect of the venom. You haven't been exposed to it before and I don't know if you–"

Seth shifted closer, tightening his arms around Marcus' waist, "My sister was bitten when that army of newborns came to Forks but she was pretty careful about keeping whatever side-effects that she suffered from that to herself."

Continuing to card his fingers through Seth's hair, he frowned, "Was she–"

"Leah's stubborn, she wouldn't want anyone to worry about her and she's usually pretty good at hiding things that are bugging her... she's a little bit like Heidi actually."

"Is that comforting to you? To have someone who reminds you of your sister? Or is it..."

He snuggled closer, feeling tears prick at his eyes. This wasn't necessarily something that he wanted to talk about because it was a painful subject for him. He missed his sister, and Heidi was similar to Leah but different enough that being with her wasn't as painful as it could be. But being with Marcus dulled all of that, he could almost forget his family back in Forks.

When it all came down, he didn't want to have to choose between Marcus and those who he'd left behind. He loved Marcus, losing him would destroy him. He could survive through the separation from his family and friends, but to lose Marcus – to be separated from him – would just destroy him. That was something that he could never deal with.

It took him a while to respond, and when he did, he spoke slowly, carefully weighing each word.

"While they're similar, they're also... different too. That makes it both bearable and a little painful too, but Heidi is... she's different enough from Leah that I can be around her and friends with her without being reminded of her too much. I love them both."

Marcus pressed his lips to Seth's forehead in silent comfort and let his arm drop from Seth's hair to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He waited, patiently, for Seth to continue. This was something that he needed to do.

"And... I miss them. I really do. I miss my mom and my sister and the Cullens. But they're alive right now because I'm here." The tears started trickling down his cheeks and Seth didn't bother to wipe them away but instead buried his face in Marcus' chest. "I can live with that, knowing that they're alive makes dealing with this separation easier. I don't think I could do that if I was... if it was you that I was separated from."

He flushed despite the tears, "I told you before, I don't want to be anywhere but with you. This is where I belong, with you."

Taking his hand that wasn't wrapped around Seth's shoulders, Marcus tipped the young man's head up so that he could look at him. Those beautiful brown eyes which he loved so much were sparkling with unshed tears of which several had trickled down his cheeks. It caused Marcus' still heat to twist painfully in his chest and he frowned. Leaning in, he brushed his lips along Seth's cheek bones, effectively kissing away his tears.

When Seth rolled forward to press his lips almost frantically against Marcus', he kissed back; his lips were gentle and he very softly caressed Seth's cheek. Seth felt that he needed to be strong; he'd been holding everything in to keep Heidi and Alec from worrying, to keep Marcus from catching onto how much he was hurting.

But he didn't have a choice about being there, even if – and it would be more of a _**when**_ – Marcus made their relationship official, he would still be unable to leave. He was still a captive, one caught in a gilded cage but he was precious too.

Lips parted against Marcus' and the vampire took advantage of that, sliding his tongue into the warm and wet cavern. It didn't take much effort on his part to easily take control of the kiss, but what he hadn't been expecting was for Seth to slide his arms up and around Marcus' neck, pulling him down on top of him as he fell backwards to the ground.

That made him pull back just enough for their lips to break contact. He search Seth's face, the young wolf panting lightly and his eyes still alight with numerous emotions. There was fear there and desire; he could see lust there, and love. But the fear there concerned him, that and the hurt. He knew that Seth was still in pain despite the months that had passed since he'd been brought to Volterra, although it did seem like it was fading somewhat but it would always be there.

"Seth..."

"I'm scared Marcus," he murmured, eyes searching Marcus'. "This doesn't scare me. What scares me is that... you could get hurt. I know that – Heidi's hinted that if it came down to it, Aro would choose you over me. If anything were to happen he would–"

"You are all that matters," Marcus replied. "If anything were to happen to you, I would only see to it that you were avenged before I followed you."

"But–"

"Seth, I am fully aware of what this is." This was a conversation that Marcus had been half-dreading; he didn't want to scare the other away. "You and I, this is – I'm not really sure of how to explain this. I'm afraid that it might–"

Fingers touched his lips and Seth gave him a warm smile, "I'm used to weird by this point. Just tell me what you need to. I love you Marcus, I won't leave you."

Returning the smile, Marcus pressed a lingering kiss to Seth's cheek, softly murmuring when he pulled back, "You... I would wait an eternity for you Seth. I... I love you Seth, believe me I do; more than anything I do. I never thought that I would have this – I've seen firsthand that just because we share this connection doesn't mean that – no, that's not it, I–"

"You're rambling Marcus," Seth smiled, chuckling a little at how cute it almost was. "Come on, you can say it to me, I won't run away from you."

A deep breath, "I don't want you to misunderstand is all," Marcus continued, gathering his thoughts. "This is a... delicate issue and I... I don't want to lose you because of this, I know that it would only hurt us both but you do need to know."

He couldn't help himself, he pressed another kiss to Seth's lips; a chaste one this time.

"You, Seth, are my mate. I belong to you just as surely as you belong to me. Aro would never touch you if he knew this, but he would also use this knowledge against us both."

"I've heard that term before," Seth mused, hand trailing down from Marcus' chin to his chest where it came to rest. "Jasper sometimes calls Jake that when he thinks that Jake can't hear him. From what he told me, it's something like our imprinting."

"You're taking this surprisingly well."

Seth looked up at him, color tingeing his cheeks, "I don't know... I kind of expected something like this, I guess. It makes sense in a weird way. Heidi did imply that you changed since I got here."

"I did. You changed me." Marcus leaned down and let his forward rest against Seth's, smiling as he let his eyes drift closed. "I suppose I was afraid for nothing."

"Maybe. If I was anyone else, then they'd probably think you were insane and may have been running for the hills right now. I guess that the risks for something like this are pretty high." He frowned as he thought through the possible ramifications. "What are some of them? I know you Marcus, you'd do whatever it takes to keep me safe and I want to know if there's something I can do."

A heavy silence fell for several long minutes before Marcus finally replied with a bit of a heavy sigh, "Aro can't touch you if... there is confirmation."

Now _**that**_ was full of multiple meanings.

"Confirmation? What does that mean?"

If he could have, Marcus would have flushed. "Several things. There are some formalities that Aro has put into place that would have to be recognized. You would be afforded the same position and privileges that Athenodora and Sulpicia have."

Seth frowned, "So you're saying that I'd be like a trophy wife?"

"No, despite how it looks, Caius and Athenodora do genuinely care for each other. Aro, on the other hand..." Marcus let the sentence hang. "I would hope that your opinion of me is higher than that of Aro. But no, you would not be a 'trophy wife' as you put it. As I said, these formalities are something that Aro instituted. At the very least, you would be a member of this coven and... you would be above Jane's reach, permanently."

"I thought I already was," Seth smiled. "You did say that–"

"No one could touch you Seth, I would make sure of that," Marcus replied, voice low, dangerous. "They wouldn't dare touch you, knowing what you meant to me."

"How would they know that?" Seth whispered. He knew that he smelled strongly of the Volturi, or at least Marcus, Heidi, and Alec, but what could that have to do with this? "I mean, I know that I smell–"

Marcus interrupted him before he could continue, "Seth, I think you know what I'm implying. Confirmation is just a fancy term for what is essentially consummation."

_Oh. Oh that does make sense._..

"So... you're saying..." Seth blushed, his cheeks turning a very bright red. "Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'."

"Is there... a timeline for this?" Although they'd been moving towards that, Seth wasn't sure if he was ready for that quite yet. In the future maybe, but right then at that moment? He wasn't. "I don't... I don't think I can do that–"

Marcus pressed another kiss to Seth's lips and smiled at him, "No. I can wait for you until you're ready, as long as that takes."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Heidi was practically overflowing with advice and ideas when she learned that her best friend had been discussing confirmation with Marcus, all of which had only made Seth turn bright red and stutter at her to shut up because it really wasn't like that.

"Oh come on! You need to know these things! Didn't anyone talk to you about this sort of thing? I'd be appalled if they didn't." Heidi grinned when she saw Seth's completely mortified expression, "Really Seth, you shouldn't let this bother you so much, when you actually–"

"Heidi, stop talking about my non-existent sex life or else I'll tear your arm off."

She pouted, "You wouldn't."

With a sharp glare, Seth grumbled out, "You don't know that."

"Unless you want Felix and Marcus fighting each other, I don't think you will," Heidi returned lightly. "And really, you need to stop being such a prude, it's perfectly natural for you to be nervous but you really don't need to be."

"Shut up Heidi or else I'll go find Alec." Seth turned away from his so-called best friend to go back to the book that he'd been trying to read since before she'd shown up to harass him about this. It wasn't that he was actually distressed about what she was talking about – he knew there was some truth to some of her claims – but it just really wasn't something that he wanted to be talking about with her.

Heidi sighed heavily, "Sheesh, you're no fun."

"It's personal; I don't need your commentary on whether or not I should be sleeping with Marcus right at this moment."

"Well you know you can't technically sleep with him."

At that little smart remark, Seth promptly chucked the book that he'd been reading at Heidi's head. She easily dodged it and it hit the ground with a thud and a rather nasty sounding crack.

_That was probably the cover..._ Seth climbed to his feet and went over to inspect the damage. He'd been half-right; the binding of the book had snapped off and was only hanging on by a few threads. That made him groan and shoot a dirty look at Heidi.

The female vampire threw her hands up in a placating gesture, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Don't look at me like that; I'm not the one throwing books around at people just because I'm mildly annoyed at them."

"You could've caught it!" Seth snapped. Bending down, he picked up the book and placed the bound pages back in the cover. Well, at least the book itself wasn't damaged aside from that. Luckily for him, it was salvageable. "Just... leave me alone."

And with that, he stormed out of the library, shoving the book back onto a shelf as he passed it. He slammed the heavy door behind him as hard as he could, letting a loud bang echo in the corridors. As he stormed down the hallway, he knew that Alec was tailing behind him a short way but wisely keeping his distance. It was a little irritating to know that when he wanted to be left alone, he couldn't be because of safety issues.

Frustrated, Seth turned down another corner and made a beeline towards the courtyard garden that had become one of his favoured hide-outs for when he wanted to be alone to think. Heidi would leave him alone while he was there and it did afford him a fair amount of privacy since Alec would only lurk around the door and leave him alone for the most part. When Marcus got back from dealing with some Volturi business that had cropped up, he'd obviously come to find Seth there. That didn't worry Seth, he knew that Marcus wouldn't judge and would do his best to allay any fears or concerns that he might have.

It was still sunny outside even though the sun was setting over the top of the palace, painting everything in a deep shade of red. Seth flopped down in the grass, closing his eyes as he took a few deep breaths to calm down. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Alec standing near one of the doorways, arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

Well at least he knew to leave Seth alone.

Once he'd gotten a better handle on his irritation, Seth sighed. He hadn't meant to snap at Heidi like that, but this was just something that he wanted to think about and decide on his own time. Sure all the teasing was in good fun and she was honest about Marcus, but... she didn't really understand where he was coming from. It was his first serious relationship – and it would be his only one, he'd make sure of that and so would Marcus – and he wasn't sure about what that meant.

He had no prior experience to draw from, and the people around him whose relationships he'd seen grow had happened in a number of ways. Plus, they were pretty secretive about how they'd gotten together. And the only other wolf-vampire couple he knew were thousands of miles away on another continent.

Not that he was going to ask Jacob for sex advice because that would just be awkward and creepy.

_Are we moving too fast?_ Seth had no idea what the answer was. Heidi would be of no help, she came from a completely different time and her past with Felix was different than his with Marcus. Plus there was the whole same-sex issue he had to deal with. Which wasn't a problem for him, he didn't really care that Marcus was male and that he was in love with him; that would be stupid.

Marcus was beautiful and wonderful – Seth had problems conveying Marcus in words, even in his head. He knew what he felt and Marcus knew, which was all that mattered.

Rolling over onto his back, Seth stared up at the darkening sky that was still a deep orange-red. Maybe that was just something that he had to get used to; having people shove their noses into his personal life just because of who Marcus was. Then again, the pack would have been doing the same thing if – but no, he wasn't going to think about that.

"I hear that you had an argument with Heidi."

Marcus' soft voice broke Seth out of his reverie and he sat up. The vampire was smiling at him and sitting next to him on the ground. Seth hadn't heard him approach or greet Alec; it just went to show how distracted he was.

"She was sticking her nose into something that I didn't want to talk about," Seth grumbled, moving closer to the vampire and snuggling up to his side. "I threw a book at her by the way. Sorry."

"I noticed," Marcus chuckled. "Maybe try throwing something else at her next time it happens."

"I thought about tearing her arm off, but then I remembered that I can't shift," Seth replied, gesturing to his ankle. He let out a sigh as Marcus slipped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. "Thanks..."

Marcus only smiled and pressed his lips to Seth's temple. The two of them settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"You were gone longer than usual today," Seth mused. He'd started to memorize Marcus' schedule; usually the Volturi met maybe once a week to discuss some day-to-day issues or things that cropped up. Sometimes they talked about events that were happening that might have been of concern, such as rogue vampires or newborns making a scene of themselves.

"Something came up."

The tone of Marcus' voice was tense, and Seth knew something was up.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" He froze when Marcus handed him an envelope. "What's this?"

"This came for you this morning. I would have given it directly to you, but Jane found it before I could." There was pain in Marcus' eyes as he watched Seth. "It's from Forks, I'm not sure if it's from your family or the Cullens."

Seth glanced at the envelope where his name was written along with what he assumed with the address for the Volturi – weird to think that vampire's got mail, but whatever – and in the corner was an address that he knew quite well.

"It's from the Cullens. I think the pack might think I'm dead or something," Seth flipped it over, ripping the envelope open. Inside was a piece of hard, decorative stationary along with a bit of folded paper. The decorative stationary was a wedding invitation. The note was from Carlisle.

"You didn't say that your friend was getting married," Marcus' voice was soft and right next to Seth's ear. "The wedding is in a month."

"I think Jake was putting it off," Seth replied, trying his best to push down his emotions before they made him sick. "He probably didn't want to be getting married so soon after I had to leave. They've been together for a while now though; this is just Jasper being proper."

Marcus chuckled a little, "Old fashioned?"

"He's from the 1800s, he's a bit of a stickler on the whole marriage deal. It's not legal but it's the though that counts I guess."

"Do you want to go?"

Seth whipped around in Marcus' arm, staring at the vampire with wide eyes, "I – I don't think that Aro would let me."

"Let me deal with Aro. I want to know if you want to go."

"Yes." Seth could feel his heart pounding wildly in his veins and his mind felt heavy and sluggish as it processed the conversation. He thought of his friends and family back home and how much he missed them. Even if he couldn't stay, he wanted to see them again and introduce Marcus, let them know that it wasn't as bad as they thought. "Will you come with me?"

"If that's what you desire. I would follow you anywhere Seth," Marcus replied. "I will talk to Aro about this, do not worry about it."

Seth wanted badly to protest, worried about Marcus and what Aro would do to him if he thought that his judgement had been impaired because of him. The last thing he wanted was to be used against the vampire. He reached out, his fingers shaking violently and touched the other's cheek. Marcus' hand came up and covered his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

The two of them stayed like that for a few moments before Seth remembered the note from Carlisle. His fingers this time were sure as he unfolded the small piece of paper. Only a few words were scribbled on it.

All Seth could think to say was, "Aro is not going to be happy about this."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Yes. That is a cliff-hanger. Yes. I know I am evil for doing that. Yes. I know you all want to kill me after I left you for so long without an update but a lot of stuff happened and real-life got in the way and did you know that essays and midterms are evil? I have finals coming up too so updating will be a little sparse.

I've also been haunting kink memes, so um, I've been doing stuff for those too. I like giving myself too much to work on. I'll try harder to finish things in a more timely fashion.

ANYWAY. Since my birthday is this Saturday (December 4), I have a request and a challenge to everyone out there. I want some more Marcus/Seth. You heard me. I don't care about length or what happens, I just want to see more of this pairing. So go write some. My birthday or no, I would like to see some more.

And post it on **marcus_seth** (or just here on ), because this pairing needs more love!

Twilight.


	21. XXI Preparations

**Title:** Complexity  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Part:** XXI. Preparations  
**Words:** 3180 words  
**Summary:** Volterra was his prison, an entire city, but it didn't make up for the fact that he was alone and tortured. There had to be something to make this death sentence worthwhile.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series, and I don't claim to own it either. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and I only write these things to satisfy the muses and make nothing from it.

**XXI. Preparations**

To say the least, the next few days were taxing on both Marcus and Seth, along with their relationship.

Seth spent most of that time under Alec's almost strict supervision to keep Aro from pulling anything that could compromise him or possibly put him in the line of harm. Mostly because Marcus would not put it past the other to pull something like that for the simple reason of revenge; leaving, Marcus to deal with the details and keeping him protected.

Of course, that wasn't saying that Seth didn't **_try_** to convince both Marcus and Alec that it was completely unnecessary.

And quite promptly learned that there were a few things that Marcus would allow no compromise on; his safety being one of them.

"But I'm sure that Alec's got more important things to do than baby-sitting me," Seth tried to reason.

"No. At this moment, it **_is_** entirely likely that Aro would do something that he'd regret," Alec interrupted. "I also don't have anything more important to do; the rest of the guard is mostly just lying about, it's only Aro and Caius who are making such a fuss of this."

Marcus was much more severe; his expression stubborn and unyielding like a brick wall. "I will not let your safety be compromised Seth. No matter what you might believe, Aro still very much considers you to be a curiosity and thus expendable."

"You and Heidi have made that abundantly clear," Seth replied darkly. He would've rolled his eyes too if it wasn't for the downright scary expression on Marcus' face. Fuck, there really was no arguing with him on this. "But–"

"No buts." Marcus glared at him, "There will be no arguments on this; it's for your safety Seth, please understand that."

Since that had been the third argument in one day about the matter, Seth had just decided to let it drop. There was no way that he was going to get either of the two to agree with him, so it was just easier to let them have their way. Besides, he could see their point. Sort of.

That didn't mean that he was happy with it.

Alec was lurking unobtrusively near one of the doors to the sitting room while Seth was half-sulking on the couch with a book discarded on the floor beside him. He still wasn't happy about the entire situation, even if he could understand why Marcus was worried.

"This should blow over in few days," Alec interjected into the silence. "It really isn't something that you should be so upset over."

"Yeah, but isn't guarding me kind of boring?"

Alec shrugged, arms crossed, "Not particularly. If I wasn't guarding you, then I wouldn't be doing anything and at least you are... interesting to be around."

That just made Seth frown, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That would be my way of saying that I like you," Alec replied with a tiny smirk. "Therefore, I don't mind having to 'baby-sit' you as you put it."

When Seth just continued to stare at him, Alec just chuckled a little, "Honestly Seth, it sounds like you sell yourself a bit short sometimes. You're a perfectly likeable person – if you weren't, than I don't think that you would have endeared yourself to us as much as you have. In any case, you are far from being boring."

"Yeah, but I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't have to have a bodyguard twenty-four-seven," Seth grumbled. "Especially since the Romanians are going to be lying low for a while..."

"Seth, you are Marcus' mate; I'm sure that he's spoken to you about this. Your safety will always be paramount in his mind and, despite what you might believe, you will always be at some amount of risk." Alec sighed; if he had been human he was sure that he would have a headache. "Certainly you have noticed that neither Athenodora or Sulpicia go anywhere without a guard of their own. It's a simple precaution."

"Yeah, but..." Seth blushed. "We haven't, you know, _**confirmed**_ anything..."

"That comes with time so you shouldn't worry too much about it," Alec shrugged. "When you feel it's time, then it will happen."

_That's the problem; I feel like I'm running out of time._

Seth sighed and rolled over on the couch; he'd spent a lot of time recently just sitting around reading or sleeping or engaged in something quiet with Marcus. And while he did want to broach the subject of 'confirmation' with Marcus, the fact still remained that Alec was always within earshot and he just didn't want to further his own embarrassment about discussing _**that**_ with the younger vampire around.

There were something's that he just didn't want anyone else knowing.

He'd been stewing over the idea of confirmation and what it meant since Marcus had originally broached the subject and while his discomfort with it had lessened somewhat, he was finding that he wasn't as averse to the idea as he would've originally thought. After all, he loved Marcus and knew the vampire felt the same so it would happen eventually...

And Marcus would be gentle with him. Okay, so maybe he did have a dirty mind.

"Yeah, I know." Seth sighed again and threw an arm over his face. "So, have you heard anything new about what's going on with Carlisle?"

"Hm, as far as I know Aro has calmed down from the 'shock' of having his dear friend visit. Caius is still very upset about the entire thing since Carlisle is obviously coming only to make sure that we are treating you well."

Alec watched as Seth let out a heavy breath; really he ought to stop that, he sounded too much like an old man exasperated with his children's antics.

"In any case, the guard are of varying opinion on the entire issue and some of them are a little lacking in their control. Some of them are not too happy with your presence here along with how you seem to have bewitched Marcus, so they could possibly be tempted to take out their frustration on you."

"I thought that Carlisle was on pretty decent terms with the Volturi," Seth remarked in an almost offhand manner.

"With Aro and Marcus, yes. His relationship with Caius has been a little more antagonistic on Caius' part, and the guard has always held... mixed opinions on him and his choice of lifestyle." Alec shrugged, "Some of them have bought into Aro's views than others."

"And you?"

"Jane and I were created shortly before Carlisle left to make a new life for himself in the Americas. I never actually had a proper conversation with him, but I never have begrudged him the choices he has made. Jane is... very much Aro's little... _**pet**_."

"But he'll be okay, right?"

Alec nearly laughed at that. "He and Aro have a history; the guard would never dare lay a hand on him."

Blanching, Seth sat up and gave Alec a hard look. "That doesn't sounds particularly... innocent."

Oh. At that Alec did snort with amusement. "That's because it isn't meant to."

The priceless look of almost abject horror made the entire thing worth it. Honestly, the entire debacle was no secret among the Volturi who were well aware of Aro's predilections when it came to attractive young men or women.

"But – what – how–" Clearly, Seth was trying to figure this out and was in the process of breaking his brain while trying to comprehend it.

"Really, this should not surprise you. Aro is particularly good at seducing people into his bed if he takes a liking to them. His and Carlisle's history is really nothing new to any of the members of the guard. As well, newborn vampires do experience difficulties in controlling some of their more base desires in their first few years of this life; Aro simply takes advantage of that, so to speak."

"... I really don't want to have to think about that."

"Be glad that your scent wasn't particularly pleasing at first or he would have had you too," Alec murmured. "And that Marcus would kill him if even tried anything of the sort."

Alec realized that he might have gone a little too far when he saw how white Seth turned as he said that. He hadn't meant for that...

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that."

Having buried his face in one of the pillows, Seth's response was muffled and it was only thanks to Alec's superior hearing that he was able to make out what he said.

"Thanks for that Alec."

"Really, I'm sorry Seth. It's much more complicated than that and I should not have told you. Please, I'm very sorry." He was well-aware of how much Aro genuinely did scare Seth and it had been wrong of him to even _**joke**_ about such a thing.

"Just shut up."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Several days later, Seth wound up taking a very long shower, stewing in his thoughts under the hot water. He had talked Alec into standing guard out in the hall to give him a little bit of privacy while he showered. The hot water helped him think and he didn't want to have to deal with the other vampire's presence while he was thinking. It was kind of a delicate subject and he didn't want Alec asking him questions.

Carlisle would be there in the next day or two and he was nervous about it for a number of reasons.

He knew that while Carlisle might have a higher opinion of the Volturi leaders than the rest of his family, but there was still that air of suspicion. And knowing that he had a history with one of them... well, then he probably had good reason for his concern about Seth.

But Marcus was... Marcus was everything that Seth had thought he could ever want and more. He was kind, thoughtful, handsome, intelligent, funny, and so much more. He loved him and trusted him, wasn't that enough?

So maybe the situation for them meeting and falling for each other wasn't ideal, but it had still happened. That was something that he would just have to get the Cullens to accept – although it was more just Carlisle that he was worried about at that moment. If he could win over Carlisle, than the others shouldn't be too difficult.

Maybe... maybe some physical evidence would help?

He'd been thinking about that; about confirmation and consummation and sex – even though they all meant the same thing – and his first time with Marcus. He wanted it to mean something though, not be because Aro or Caius or whoever had forced them to go through with it. Marcus... he wanted Marcus to know that it meant more to him than that.

Marcus had told him that it would happen when he was ready. He didn't feel like he was, but Seth knew that he wouldn't ever feel completely ready. His nerves stemmed from a lot of things; that this was his first relationship, that he was a virgin in almost every sense of the word until he met Marcus. But he still wanted to him.

The thought of doing... it with Marcus set his cheeks aflame and caused a fire to settle low in his stomach and make his heart flutter with nervousness and anticipation. He kind of wished that he maybe had Jacob there to help him out with this – he had no precedent to go on or advice.

He certainly wasn't going to be trusting anything that Heidi told him. After all, she had done nothing but make him feel nervous and anxious about the entire thing. Stupid woman being a total perv.

Pressing his hand up against the tiled wall of the shower, he stared at it. The contrast between his hand, tan and warm, and the tile, cool and white, reminded him of the differences between him and Marcus. It got him thinking.

Maybe it was better to get this over with before he really did panic and do something crazy and rash.

And if they were officially recognized as mates, then maybe Marcus would stop worrying about him so much. The talk didn't bother him, but the physical repercussions definitely did. Despite both Marcus and Alec's reassurances, he was sure that Jane would pull something if she thought there was even the slightest chance that she could get away with it.

It would make Marcus' position a little less awkward too, he thought.

The more he thought about it, the more the positives weighed out over the negatives. His nerves would only be settled if he went through with this – those stupid worries that came hand in hand with his virginity. He would always have them until he actually went ahead and had sex with Marcus.

Which really was all it came down to.

He could either go through with it, tell Marcus he was ready and have sex with him, or hold off until he finally just snapped. The latter would not end well, of that he was sure.

Sighing, Seth reached out and turned off of the water but he remained in the shower for a few more minutes. Eventually he climbed out of the shower stall and grabbed a towel that he'd left on the toilet to dry himself off before he got dressed. Even though Heidi had spent a lot of time and money on giving him a more formal wardrobe, he'd still gotten to keep several pairs of jeans and tees.

Easy to take off and easy to put back on. Seth figured that they'd work for what he was planning. He'd made his decision, now he just had to put it into action. Maybe not right then, but sometime in the near future before he had time to question his decision too much.

And preferably before Carlisle arrived.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

"You're planning something, aren't you?" Alec leaned over the back of the couch to look down at Seth.

"What makes you say that?" Seth frowned as he set his book to the side. He did need something to occupy his time with after all, until he could find Marcus and tell him that he'd made up his mind.

Alec frowned, "You are very thoughtful right now. Did something happen that I should know about?"

"No. Just a little nervous."

"About Carlisle's visit?"

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to explain Marcus and I to him... you know... make him understand." Okay, so maybe some honesty could win out in this situation. He felt bad about lying to Alec and usually the young vampire was pretty good at catching onto his lies.

"The truth?"

"Of course! But it's just... the Cullens don't really have a great relationship with the Volturi so they'd be, you know, really suspicious. And well, I didn't come here under great circumstances so that probably doesn't help."

Alec gave a thoughtful frown before he continued, "I think that you would be surprised. If it was one of the guard than yes, I can see them being unhappy – but before you, Marcus was... he has changed and it is for the better. They would have to be blind or stupid not to see that."

"Well, Carlisle would listen to reason... I'm just – what if I do go back?"

"Then Marcus and I will be with you." Alec shrugged, "You will not have to face them alone. I know that Marcus would never leave your side."

_But that's just it; I'm afraid... that I might have to choose between them or him._

"And besides," Alec continued. "I'm sure that they are familiar with the concept of mates; they would not do something that would hurt you or begrudge you for that. It isn't a connection that you can ignore."

"Yeah, but..."

Alec sighed, clearly a little exasperated, "Seth, I am trying my best here but you need to realize that there is only so much I can do. Clearly I don't know the Cullens like you do and I am not the one who you love, maybe you should speak to Marcus about this. He could probably better assuage your fears than me."

"I haven't seen him the past few days," Seth replied. "He only stopped by for a little last night to make sure that I was asleep."

"Well, he should be out of his meetings with Aro for today..."

Seth sat up almost immediately, "Do you know where he is?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Alec said nothing about his reaction, "I think that he said that he would be in the library to... cool down were his words."

"Thanks!"

"You're... welcome..." Alec could only blink as Seth tore out of the sitting room like a bat out of hell. He started jogging out after him, keeping the young shifter in his sights until he disappeared through the heavy doors of the library. _What has gotten into him?_

Meanwhile, Seth had just gently closed the doors to the library behind him. Taking a deep breath, he found that Alec was right; there was a fresh scent trail of Marcus' layered over the stale ones. Of course, given how often he was in here, it was hard for him to tell just where Marcus might have been – but he was in there. That was the most important thing right then.

_Remember Seth, you said you would do this and you will. You can do this._

Keeping up his internal pep talk, Seth stalked through several of the aisles until he found Marcus sitting in one of the arm chairs in the little sitting area where they had first met. The vampire's head turned to him as he entered.

"Seth? Is something wrong?"

Seth could hear his heart thundering wildly in his chest and he knew that Marcus was all too aware of that. But he sucked in a deep breath and steeled himself. He'd promised that he would do this, that he wouldn't back down and that he could do this.

There was definite purpose in his stride as he crossed the short distance between him and Marcus. He climbed onto the chair, straddling the vampire's lap as he slid his arms around his neck. The vampire's arms came around his waist in response, his touch sending shivers up the young man's spine and warmth pooled low in his stomach.

Leaning in close, Seth took one last deep breath before voicing his request.

"I want you to take me."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Whoo hoo! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS PEOPLE? Yep. There's gonna be some smut next chapter. ;D For those of you reading this on , then I recommend that you either check my LiveJournal or my AFF account (once I actually get around to posting this story there...) where you can read that chapter in its full smutty glory. It'll be really short on here since I can't post it here without possibly getting in trouble.

Sorry about the long wait, next chapter to be up soon!

**EDIT:** For some reason was being a bitch when I first tried to add this, it kept giving me an error message... so I apologize profusely for the delay in posting this here – thank you to Starry for telling me how to correct the error and get this part posted. I'm so, so sorry about how long this took to post. But seriously? What the fuck ? I'm posting this story on AFF now, so if you want to read it uncensored, that's where it will be.

Twilight.


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